Anzac Day and the Good Shepherd

26 April, 2010
A 15th-century portrait of Thomas Aquinas by Gozzoli

Gozzoli's 15th-century portrait of Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas, proponent of just war theory

delivered 25 April 2010
by Rev. Dr John Evans

Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30

ANZAC Day is problematic for the preacher – especially when our regular Sunday worship falls on the actual day. All sorts of temptations arise. One is perhaps tempted to collapse the two events – our regular Sunday worship into being an ANZAC commemoration. Perhaps as our honour rolls say – For God King and Country. Our faith comes to undergird past and present military engagement – and so one is to fight for God on behalf of God. On the other hand one could use this day …

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By john | Posted in sermons |

150th Church Anniversary

22 April, 2010
Palmerston St Methodist Church: original 1861 church on left -- now gone -- the 1870 bluestone church on the right

Palmerston St Methodist Church: original 1861 church on left (now gone), the 1870 bluestone church on the right

Sermon delivered on 11 April 2010
by Rev. Alistair Macrae, President of the Uniting Church in Australia

Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31

On occasions like this we are aware of the communion of saints … and that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Many stories have already been told in the lead-up to this day of people who have been part of this extraordinary congregation these past 150 years. I remember doing lessons as a primary school student in rural Victoria learning about this Church in far off Melbourne where they did translations into different languages to accommodate the different migrant groups.

The presence of a worshipping community here all this time, the creation …

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By john | Posted in sermons |

Overcoming Hatred and Violence

18 April, 2010

Delivered 18 April, 2010
by Rev Dr John Evans

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20) •
Psalm 30 •
Revelation 5:11-14 •
John 21:1-19

There are some media images which are just seared into our mind. Mine come form the Vietnam war, or as the Vietnamese say, the American war. I think you know the ones: the young girl, naked and screaming in pain fleeing a napalm attack. The other was the summary execution in a street of Saigon of a Vietcong, by the Saigon Police chief. There are others we now can add to: a plane flying into one of the twin towers in New York, a lone protester standing in front of a tank in Tiamen Square Beijing. . . . or perhaps just the standard fare of any nightly news bulletin of violence and destruction on a grand scale, or on a local scale of a bashing, a stabbing or glassing.

…

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By john | Posted in sermons |

History of the Palmerston St church

12 April, 2010
The original 1861 church side-by-side with Jospeh Reed's extant bluestone church to the right

Palmerston Street in the 1920s: The original 1861 church side-by-side with Joseph Reed's extant 1870 bluestone church to the right

Designed by Melbourne’s great architect Joseph Reed in a distinctive Romanesque style, our church in Palmerston St is almost as old as the congregation itself, now celebrating its sesquicentenary.

David Johnson has prepared a carefully researched and illustrated chronicle of the history of the church buildings on this site.  This material is not included in our new book The Need is the Call: 150 Years of Service in Carlton.

Please click on ‘History‘ in the left-hand menu to find his series of 4 brochures available in pdf for easy download and printing:

  1. The Origins
  2. A time-line of changes
  3. Colonial architect Joseph Reed
  4. Changes and furnishing along the way
By olivia | Posted in parish news |

The Turning Point

4 April, 2010

Delivered Easter Day, 2010
by Rev Dr John Evans

Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
John 20:1-18

Easter is about new life; resurrection; new beginnings, hope!

Have you heard about the Fremantle Dockers? That little known AFL football club. My football club. A good source of my sermon illustrations about humility and hopelessness. You may remember a recent illustration about applying the mercy rule as in baseball to football. Anyhow. Last year they were second last. They promised so little and delivered even less. They bravely fought off Richmond for the wooden spoon. This year, after one gruelling round of the competition, they are second! What a turn around. Can you believe it, second. Top four. True it is only on percentages. And true it is only round one. Second. I can only dream.

So if you can forgive my madness, the thing is – it all depends when you view something for you to get an appropriate perspective, at least …

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By john | Posted in sermons |

Join us at Easter & on 11 April

29 March, 2010

Church of All Nations’ anniversary dinner on Saturday night was a splendid occasion, its centrepiece being the book launch, by former minister John Rickard, of our ‘collective memoir’, The Need is the Call: 150 years of service in Carlton.  Contact the church for your own copy of the book for $20 (add $5 for postage).

You are warmly invited to attend our Holy Week services:

Wed 31 March, 7:45am

Thur 1 April, 7pm — incl. a shared meal

Fri 2 April, 10am — followed by hot cross buns

Sun 4 April, 10am

And, moreover, our 150th anniversary service at 10am on Sunday 11 April.

Rev. Alistair Macrae

Rev. Alistair Macrae

We are honoured to welcome as guest preacher the Rev. Alistair Macrae, President of the Uniting Church in Australia, for this special occasion.  He will also unveil an engraved stone commemorating the anniversary.

Please stay for lunch after the service (free of charge), followed by a choice of local history walks.  Don’t miss our superb display of historical documents and artefacts from the rich history of the 10 churches in Carlton and North Carlton that are today represented in the Uniting Church in Palmerston Street.

By olivia | Posted in parish events |

The Prince of Peace

28 March, 2010

Delivered by Rev Dr John Evans
on Sunday 28 March, 2010

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40

As long as I can remember Palm Sunday has been a day of peace activism by Christians. Indeed it has been a day of peace activism, generally. When I lived in Canberra in the 1980’s, there were huge rallies and marches on Palm Sunday calling for nuclear disarmament. Indeed do you remember the Nuclear Disarmament Party – formed in 1984, at the time of an arms race, especially with regard to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. The US and Ronald Reagan and the “evil empire” of the Soviet Union pushed us to the brink. Peace appropriately has been a feature of Palm Sunday; and peace has always had a political edge in these Palm Sunday events: whether it has been nuclear disarmament, or Iraq wars 1 and 2 or Afghanistan.

The original Palm Sunday also had a profound political edge. So my spoiler alert: this is a political sermon!

The …

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By john | Posted in sermons |

Our 150th anniversary

15 March, 2010

The Church of All Nations will celebrate this great landmark with exhibitions, tours, a new book, a dinner, a church service and more.  Please join us at any or all of these events where we look back at the vibrant history of the church’s presence in a changing context and we look forward in faith and hope.

There are 2 key dates for your diary:

Saturday 27 March

6:30 for 7pm – Anniversary Dinner in the Dyson Hall at 180 Palmerston St, Carlton ($20 a head)

A history of the Church of All Nations titled The Need is the Call, edited by Paul Madden, will be launched on the night.

Sunday 11 April

Rev. Alistair Macrae

Rev. Alistair Macrae

10am – Service of worship and thanksgiving, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton

Guest preacher: the Rev. Alistair Macrae, President of the Uniting Church in Australia

A Heritage Victoria plaque and an engraved stone commemorating the anniversary will be unveiled.

Please stay for lunch after the service (free of charge), followed by a choice of local history walks.

For more details and to book for the dinner, please phone (03) 9347 7077 or complete and return this form.

By olivia | Posted in parish events |

When the Manna Ceases

15 March, 2010

Delivered by Rev Dr John Evans
on Sunday 14 March, 2010

Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

The story of the two sons and their father is one of the great stories of Jesus. It resonates with us at many levels. We each have been the younger son – desperate to have our own freedom and try life, but wondered if there is still a place for us “at home”; or we have been the elder son, jealous, miffed that “exceptions are made” or someone else seems to be treated  more lavishly than we are. Or the perhaps there has been the heartache of  a relationship breakdown, and the daily looking out for, hoping for a return, and a reconciled relationship. It is a story of God’s love and grace – of why indeed Jesus eats with the sinners and the lost. However, ponder this – what happens the next day when the party is over? The roasted heifer has been polished off, and things return to normal in this household?

The older son – does he continue in his grumpiness; does the father settles down to a more regular routine. And what would the younger son do? The …

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By john | Posted in sermons |

Mercy

8 March, 2010

Delievered on Sunday 7 March, 2010
by Rev Dr John Evans

Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9

In baseball there is a rule that says that if the game is two thirds of the way through the 9 innings of a full game, and one team is 10 runs ahead of the other, the game is called off. The leading team is declared the victor. It is known as the mercy rule. One team is saved the ignominy of having to continue and complete the encounter when the victor is obviously apparent. The defeat and annihilation does not have to be so drawn out. Some grace is shown towards the vanquished in an obvious mismatch. I think we could come up with many other examples in sport where there could be a mercy rule applied. My football team would make it a habit of only playing three quarters and not a full game.

Mercy.

Mercy is a quality we …

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By john | Posted in sermons |