The Messenger

June, 2026

Dear Friends

ON THE EVENING of 26 January, 1967, it started to snow in Chicago, USA, and it kept on snowing till the next morning with a heavy fall that was a record at 23 inches in the old scale. A young writer later said: ““There was so much snow that winter, you couldn’t see; all snow, all ice, and it was very cold. I remember walking through the trenches and the tunnels of ice, the wind blowing so hard you couldn’t even see. It’s an experience that never left me.”

He would use that experience many years later, to write a vision of a dark and cold world where kingdoms and peoples clash in ongoing and protracted conflict fuelled by generations of jealousy, mistrust, and dislike, and where the struggle for honour and power eclipse any possibility of justice or goodness, or even much discussion of them, and where the chilling air is only one implication of the foreboding warning, ‘winter is coming,’ reiterated again and again, that characterizes the bleak outlook for nearly anyone, no matter how great or how small, as one personage after another repeats that gloomy forecast 

This tag line from the series Game of Thrones from the book by George Martin speaks the inevitability of darkness and death. Winter is coming – have truer words ever been spoken? Winter is always coming. Life is always headed toward death. The seasons return, one way or another, and even if winter is changing from what it was, this is not a positive development. Winter is coming. It hardly takes the high production values, the large cast, or the recognisable score of Game of Thrones to see how true it is that winter is coming. We don’t need a novel or a cable series to teach us about the threat of wars, the clash of ethnic groups, the suspicion between families, the tragedy borne of lust, the wickedness of despotic rulers, the madness of marauding thugs, the twisted reality wrought by political games, the cruelty of religion 

warped and abused, or the harsh conditions of an ever more extreme climate. Political, personal, ethnic, environmental discord is all around us even now. Game of Thrones tells these stories in the fantasy genre, but too much of the fantasy is, frankly, too close to home, if you ask me. Winter is coming – not just to Winterfell, but for us all.

And June has the birth of John the Baptist, who in many ways seems like he could be a character right out of Game of Thrones, clothed as he is in camel’s hair, a leather girdle about his waist, and eating locusts and wild honey, as he does. He would, admittedly, never make it through a cold snap in Winterfell with his limited wardrobe, but one imagines that he would adapt, and that a bearskin or some such thing, used in just the right way would suit him well.

John the Baptist is a crier of sorts: not just a baptizer, but a proclaimer, too. He is a man with something to say, and something about his manner implies a certain dire probability in his message. He addresses his audience as a “brood of vipers,” and he warns them about “the wrath to come.” You’d think he’d be the perfect character to declare the universal and unarguable message that “winter is coming!” and leave it at that. But John’s message is a call to repentance, too.

The Feast of the birth of John the Baptist on 24 June makes the depth of our winter, as it marks the winter solstice. But winter is always followed by spring, and the John turns always towards the new hope. And every year our Lord sends us his messenger, not to remind us that winter is coming, but to remind us that his peace and his pardon are coming too.

Another way of putting this message is to say that Jesus is coming. I want to say that when you’ve said this, you’ve said it all. But of course we live in a world that knows intimately the wet and cold of winters, but that hardly knows Our Lord at all. To say that Our Lord is the antidote to winter is to put things too minutely. Jesus is not the spring, Jesus is the Sun: he is the centre, and the power, the light, and the warmth of all things!

June is not only winter but is always a quieter month in the parish. We start with the great feast of Corpus Christi on the 7, then the long season of Sundays of Pentecost start, balancing the seasons of Lent and Easter. It is the quiet time. But quietness is always important. Quietness allows us to sit and ponder, to deepen our faith and learn more about the calling of God. 

In July we will celebrate Catholic Renewal Sunday, when we remember the revival of the Catholic movement in the Church on England in the 19^th C, of which we are the heirs. On 12 July we will have a special guest preacher that day, Fr Andrew Eaton, the Archdeacon of Newcastle. Fr Andrew and I both belong to a priestly confraternity, called rather grandly the Society of Mary, Mother of Priests (SMMS), a title given by the English founders about ten years ago. Let me assure you, the name is grander than its members, and I encourage you to put that date in your diary.

During May we also completed the repairs to the Oratory – I have included a further article on this below.

We were also asked to nominate two volunteers for recognition by our State MP – I was happy to nominate our two wardens, Lyn Dutton and Ranjan Ponniah. So much of the successful running of a parish is having someone with whom to discuss problems or pass on backdoor communications, and I thank them both for the skills and time they have given to the parish.

Our benediction service and reflection with Deacon Ben Falcon on the first Wednesday of the month is changing its time from 5.30 to 5.00 pm. This is always a short service of around 30 minutes with time for a quiet reflection, followed by wine and pizza afterwards.

Otherwise, winter is here, and remember to rug up when you come to St George’s.

My thanks to Fr Sean Mullen of St Mark’s Philadelphia for his reflection on St John the Baptist that I have used in this Messenger.

God Bless, Fr Scott

Oratory Repairs

One of the lovely spaces in St George’s is the oratory, by the side of the pulpit, a small space that is used for quiet prayer, confessions or the chapel of repose on Maundy Thursday. The roof of the oratory was repaired during May. It had suffered damage from water leaking in. It is a lath and plaster construction, so old and fragile. The builders did a great job carefully repairing the danger and replastering and repainting.

It was last repaired by Dudley Wilson in 2003 I think – he also repaired it as a young man in the late 1940s. Dudley was a tireless handyman, and with Peter McKechnie helped over many decades. They built the present fence around St George’s in the early 1950s after the old fence collapsed and Peter once also cleaned the great rood above the entrance to the sanctuary on a ladder – definitely a task that would fall foul of work and safety conditions now.

The oratory was not part of the original design for the church but was added in 1915. It was dedicated in memory of Susannah Lower, the mother-in-law of the builder of the church, Walter Torode, who was an innovative builder of his time, being the first to use re-enforced concrete for foundations. We owe him a great debt of gratitude, as we have not had nearly as many structural problems as so many other churches in Adelaide. At that time a number of alterations were made, and the idea of a tower on the north side was abandoned and the present servers’ vestry was created also. The organ was also located to its present position, and the old vestry was turned into the St Michael chapel.

I just love the space in the oratory. It’s a refuge from the rest of the building, and it is a wonderful space just to sit and say your prayers.

The sisal carpet was also damaged by the leaks and will have to be eventually replaced. All old buildings need constant maintenance, and we are fortunate to have the means to works slowly at the repairs needed to keep our church in the condition it is today.

The Folklore of Ascension Day

MICHAEL P. FOLEY

Friday, May 15, 2026

Having praised the writings of Fr. Francis X. Weiser previously, I thought it meet to share the following excerpt from his magnum opus, the Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, 1958), pp. 243-45.

Ascension Plays

During the tenth century some dramatic details were added to the liturgical procession on Ascension Day in the countries of central and western Europe.

In Germany it became a custom for priests to lift a cross aloft when the words Assumptus est in caelum (He was taken up into Heaven) were sung at the Gospel.

From the eleventh century on, the procession was gradually dropped in most countries and in its place a pageant was performed in church. These “Ascension plays” have never been accorded official approval or liturgical status by the Roman authorities.

By the thirteenth century it had become a fairly general custom to enact the Ascension by hoisting a statue of the Risen Christ aloft until it disappeared through an opening in the ceiling of the church. While the image, suspended on a rope, moved slowly upward, the people rose in their pews and stretched out their arms toward the figure of the Saviour, acclaiming the Lord in prayer or by hymn singing. Hundreds of reports in old books from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries contain vivid descriptions of this ancient custom.

One of the most charming examples is the Ascension play of the Bavarian monastery in Moosburg, recorded by the priest and poet Johann von Berghausen (1362). In the centre of the church, directly underneath an opening in the ceiling, a platform decorated with coloured cloths and flowers was erected. On this platform stood a little tent, open at the top, which represented the Mount of Olivet. Inside the tent was placed a statue of the Risen Christ, holding high the banner of victory. A strong rope that hung down from the ceiling was fastened to a ring on top of the wooden image. After Vespers (in the afternoon), a solemn procession moved from the sacristy to the platform. It was led by two boys in white robes. They impersonated angels; on their shoulders they wore wings and on their heads little wreaths of flowers. They were followed by a young cleric who represented the Blessed Virgin, “dressed in the robes of holy and honourable widowhood.” To his right and left walked clerics enacting Saint Peter and Saint John. Behind them came ten other clerics in Oriental gowns; they were barefoot, and on their foreheads they carried diadems inscribed with the names of the Apostles. The altar boys and priests, vested in festive garb, concluded the group. In front of the platform, the deacon sang the Gospel of Ascension Day, and the choir intoned the antiphon, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20, 17).

The priests then venerated the image of Christ with inclinations and incense. Finally, while the choir sang Ascendit Deus in altum, alleluia (God rose on high), the statue was slowly pulled aloft. As it rose higher and higher, a few figures of angels holding burning candles came down from “Heaven” to meet the Lord and to accompany him on his journey. From a large metal ring that was suspended below the opening, there hung cloths of silk representing clouds. Between these “clouds” the image of the Saviour slowly and solemnly disappeared. A few moments later, a shower of roses, lilies, and other flowers dropped from the opening; then followed wafers in the shape of large hosts. The schoolchildren were allowed to collect these flowers and wafers, to take them home as cherished souvenirs. Father Berghausen explains this custom as follows: “The little ones collect the flowers which symbolize the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. The wafers indicate the presence of Christ in His eucharistic Body, which remains with us, under the species of bread, to the end of time.” While the congregation stood with eyes raised to the ceiling, the two “angels” intoned the final message of Ascension Day, which predicts the triumphant coming of the Lord on the clouds of Heaven, for the great judgment at the end of the world: “Why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same way as you have seen him going up to heaven.” (Acts 1, 11) The celebration was concluded with solemn Benediction.

The Lutheran reformers violently attacked not only occasional abuses in these plays, but the whole institution. However, Luther himself seems to have later regretted the hasty condemnations of earlier years, for in a message to his preachers he wrote in 1530: “If such customs had remained as pageants for the sake of youth and school children, to furnish them with a presentation of Christian doctrine and Christian life, then it could well be allowed that Palm donkeys, Ascension plays, and many similar traditions might be admitted and tolerated; for by such things conscience is not led into confusion.”

Other Customs

It was a widespread custom in many parts of Europe during the Middle Ages to eat a bird on Ascension Day, because Christ “flew” to Heaven. Pigeons, pheasants, partridges, and even crows, graced the dinner tables. In western Germany bakers and innkeepers gave their customers pieces of pastry made in the shapes of various birds. In England the feast was celebrated with games, dancing, and horse races. In central Europe, Ascension Day is a traditional day of mountain climbing and picnics on hilltops and high places.

Popular superstitions threaten dire punishments to anyone who works on Ascension Day in field and garden, but especially to women who do their sewing on the feast. Any piece of garment that has been touched by a needle on the Ascension will attract lightning before long, and many stories are told of how people were killed that way. In some sections of Europe it is said that weddings should not be held on Ascension Day because one of the partners would die soon. Those who go bathing in rivers and lakes are exposed to the danger of drowning more than on other days. It seems that all these superstitions are relics of the pre-Christian lore of the demons of death who were said to roam the earth and kill people around this time of the year.

Services

Sunday Services

                    8.00 am    Mass

                  10.00 am    Solemn Sung Mass

Weekday Services

Monday                       Fr Scott’s Day Off

Tuesday      10.00 am    Mass, 

                          followed by gardening.

Wednesday   8.00 am    Mass 

Thursday    12.00 noon Mass

Friday          8.00 am    Mass

Saturday       8.00 am    Mass

June

         1       Justin, Martyr at Rome, c165

         1       Laying of Foundation Stone of Rectory 1907

         2       THE VISIT OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY TO ELIZABETH (FROM 31)

         3       Martyrs of Uganda, 1886 & Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda, 1977

         3       John XXIII, bishop of Rome, reformer, 1963

         5       Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Archbishop of Mainz, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754

         6       Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945

         7       CORPUS CHRISTI

         8       Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Non-Juror, Hymn Writer, 1711

         9       Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597

         9       Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Hymn Writer, Teacher of the Faith, 373

         11          BARNABAS, APOSTLE AND MARTYR

       13       Antony of Padua, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, 1231

       13       Immaculate Heart of Mary

       14       PENTECOST 3

       15       Evelyn Underhill, Spiritual Writer, 1941

       16       Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253

       18       Bernard Mizeki, Apostle to the MaShona, Martyr, 1896

       19       Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu (holy man), Evangelist, Teacher of the Faith, 1929

       21       PENTECOST 4

         22          ALBAN, FIRST MARTYR OF BRITAIN, c209

         24          THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

       27       Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher of the Faith, 444

       28       PENTECOST 5

       29       Consecration of Augustus Short as first bishop of Adelaide and inauguration of the See of Adelaide 1847

         30          PETER and PAUL, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS (from 29)

July

         1       Coming of the Light, First Missionaries to the Torres Strait, 1871

         1       Henry and John Venn, Priests, Evangelical Divines, 1797 and 1813

         5       PENTECOST 6

         6       John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Thomas More, Scholar, Martyrs, 1535

       11       BENEDICT OF NURSIA, Abbot of Monte Casino, Father of Western Monasticism, patron of Europe, c550

       12       CATHOLIC RENEWAL SUNDAY, JOHN KEBLE & THE FOUNDERS OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT

       13       Sydney James Kirkby, bishop, pioneer of outback ministry and the Bush Church Aid Society, 1935

       15       Bonaventure, Friar, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith, 1274

       18       Elizabeth Ferard, first Deaconess of the Church of England, Founder of the Community of St Andrew, 1883

       19       PENTECOST 8

       20       Margaret of Antioch, Martyr, 4^th Cent.

       20       Bartolmé de las Casas, Apostle to the Indies, 1566

         22          MARY MAGDALENE

       23       Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, Patron of Europe, 1373

         25          JAMES, APOSTLE AND MARTYR

       26       PENTECOST 9

       27       Anne and Joachim, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

       27       Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, Teacher of the Faith, 1901

       29       Mary, Martha & Lazarus, Companions of the Lord

       30       William Wilberforce, Social Reformer, Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson: Anti-Slavery Campaigners, 1833, 1797 and 1846 & all Social Reformers

       31       Joseph of Arimathea

       31       Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus, 1566

Address for correspondence

The Parish of St George the Martyr,

The Rectory

34 Angus Street

Goodwood, SA, 5034

Email: stgeorges8@bigpond.com

Consider giving to the church; our bank details are as follows.

For regular and general offerings:

Anglican Parish of St George the Martyr

BSB 105-033 Account 151 992 640

For mission offerings and special projects (e.g. Lent, disaster relief):

St Georges Association for Education

BSB 105-033 Account 151 259 040

You may donate anonymously, but please note a purpose – e.g. ‘regular offering’, ‘overseas mission’, ‘Lenten giving’.