Twentieth Anniversary Celebrations
May 2009
MERCEDES College is a Roman Catholic school in the centre of Perth with a spectacular convent chapel that is well suited to traditional worship. It was here on Pentecost Sunday that a great celebration took place, marking the 20th anniversary of our Church in Western Australia.
From the venue itself, to the presence of the Revd Fr Professor Peter Black, professor of Philosophy and Religion from Notre Dame University, officially representing Archbishop Hickey, and Mgr Kevin Long, Rector of St Charles' Seminary, with his twenty-two robed seminarians, it was easy to feel that this celebration was undergirded by the positive encouragement and goodwill of those with whom the Traditional Anglican Communion seeks to be in full communion.
The Eucharist was celebrated in the presence of Archbishop John Hepworth by the Rt Revd Harry Entwistle, Bishop of the Western Apostolic District. Bishop David Robarts preached, and Bishop David Chislett was in attendance. The line-up of clergy was impressive. It included a handful who had pioneered the Church in Western Australia, as well as those who had transferred across from the Anglican Diocese of Perth following the consecration of Bishop Entwistle in 2006.
The traditional liturgy was powerful and inspiring, due in no small part to the skilful accompaniment of organist Trevor Rodd. In his sermon, Bishop Robarts, a former Anglican Dean of Perth, reflected on the “restoration of the temple” from the book of Haggai, applying the theme to the development of the Church in Australia as a small church gathering up the glories of the Anglican tradition for the benefit of all God’s people.
Visitors had come from far and wide for this celebration which was followed by lunch in the hall under the chapel.
[Acknowledgment: The Messenger Journal]
Photos from the day
