Message from the Chaplain

Christ the King

This liturgical feast day is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Church calendar. Next Sunday is the start of Advent, a time of preparing for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Christ the King has never really done much for me. I’ve never been a monarchist so that could explain it. Nevertheless, Christ the King was instituted in 1925 when post-WWI Europe was becoming powerfully secular and atheist. The feast day was to remind people that their loyalty was owed in the first place to God.

The Book of Revelation is not an easy book of the Bible to understand on account of its cosmic, apocalyptic visions. It begins as a letter addressed from “him who is and who was and who is to come” and from “Jesus Christ… the rulers of the kings of the earth.” It then launches into a prediction of the second coming at which time all people will recognise the true God. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” If my students wrote an opening paragraph as engaging I’d be stoked.

The other reading for Christ the King is from the Gospel of John. It is the exchange between Pilate and Jesus. Jesus claims that his kingdom is not of this world. If it were, he says, “my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over.” On the surface, Jesus’ kingdom present no threat to Pilate or Roman governance. The truth was, however, that the kingdom was, in part, already in existence. That is why in the same conversation Jesus states “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world.”

The passages of scripture were selected in 1925 for a particular reason. For the post-WWI people, they are reminders of loyalty to God rather than to earthly powers and the oppression of nihilistic philosophy. For the early Church in the opening centuries of Christian living, they convey encouragement, strength and certainty in God in a time of persecution by the Romans authorities. For us, it is a reminder that we belong to the Truth and to listen to His voice over the din of media sensationalism and deceit. In our multicultural, multi-faith, global nation, we are encouraged to answer the call of the one God “who was, is and will be” to restore humanity and heal our environment. The kingdom is subversive and it grows through our individual efforts.

Although the feast of Christ the King concludes the liturgical year, may the message of these readings provide for you a context for Christmas. The birth of Jesus is the beginning of the narrative, not the narrative in itself. May the celebration of God’s Word being incarnate in order to enter our history, be a celebration of all that God has called us to be.  

CamKids

CamKids is the name given to the School’s major social justice fundraising initiative. Raised funds are given to The Cambodian Children’s Charity (CamKids). Camkids works with local communities in Cambodia offering support to families through the provision of nutritional, medical and educational support. Each year, students of Kinross Wolaroi aim to raise US$10,000 for CamKids to ensure the ongoing education of 96 children who attend school in the impoverished province of Kampong Speu. For further information about the charity and the work they do, view their website: www.camkids.org.

Earlier in the Term, Sally Uttley and her friends (Yr11) saw the opportunity to run a Fundraising BBQ in a family’s garden during the Millthorpe Garden Ramble. The beautiful sunny days meant lots of people were out and about and the students did a fantastic job feeding the many garden ramblers. By the end of the second day $1270.00 was raised for Camkids.

This tremendous outcome would not have been possible without the assistance of the Uttley family, Sally, and her host of volunteers: Bella Adams, Declan Kelly, Ethan Rutherford, Felix Mitchell on the Saturday and Georgie Haigh, Gidget Hall and Lew Connick on the Sunday. Paul Tierney (KWS Head of McLachlan) and Steve Harris (KWS parent) were also generous with their time at the bbqs. 

The appreciation of CamKids for the efforts of the School community is not insignificant. The BBQ has enabled the School to meet its target despite the drought and the low currency exchange rate against the US dollar. The funds raised go directly to CamKids. There is no middle-man or administration costs. Money will purchase for students, uniforms, shoes, bags, resources (such as they are!), teachers’ salaries, bicycles for students who need them, spare parts and repairs for the next school year.

At the end of this Term, twelve students of the new Year 12 cohort and two staff (Ms Cole and Mr Whitehead) will visit Cambodia. They will spend a week at the CamKids school in Kampong Speu teaching English, Art and Sporting Activities. They will tend the School garden and contribute to work around the School as required. Due to changes in the climate, the rice crop that supplies the staff’s annual staple is late in maturing, so it appears that our students will be spared of harvesting the rice this year.

On behalf of CamKids, I extend my thanks to all who have contributed to the raising of funds over the course of 2018 for this worthy act of mission, charity and service.

Pastor Phil Worrad

Chaplain