A place with faith in the future
St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
The Consecration of St John's Brisbane
This had been an event long in the planning and building.
The plans were approved in 1889, the Foundation Stone laid in 1901, with three stages of construction: 1906-1910; 1964-1968, 1989-2009. In this, the Sesquicentenary of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, to their motto of 'Celebrate. Dedicate. Anticipate' could now be added, 'Consecrate.'
The church is a truly inspiring High Gothic Cathedral. When the Architect, John Loughborough Pearson, was asked what was the mark of a good church he replied 'The question to ask oneself on entering a church is not, "Is this admirable?", "Is this beautiful?", but "Does it send you to your knees?" '
At the Consecration Service on 29 October there were people from all over Australia, with Tasmania well represented by Bp Phillip and Mrs Merle Newell, Bp Chris Jones as well as Jo Pyecroft, and of course Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, Primate of Australia and formerly of the Apple Isle.
Some from Tasmania also participated by watching on the webcast. That would not have been dreamed of in 1889!
Fortunately the evening was not particularly warm, for which I was grateful as I had taken the restored St David's Cope. While a very fitting garment for such an occasion, bearing the crest of the Cathedral, it is rather like wearing a bed spread, not good in the Queensland climate!
The service combined ancient and modern elements with music ranging from traditional aboriginal didgeridoo, played as Archbishop Aspinall led the prayers of consecration, a Torres Strait Island chorus, Hymns Ancient and Modern, as well as specially commissioned musical pieces.
The preacher for the service was David Richardson, the Anglican representative in Rome, former Dean of Adelaide and Melbourne and with a long association with St John's, as a server and priest.
In what can only be described as a longish sermon in a longish service , he considered God's presence in the Temple in the Old Testament, God's presence with believers as new creations in the New, but that God is ultimately revealed in Jesus. He also spoke of the Cathedral as a place with faith in the future and so a place of hope for all who come in. It was then to be a place of welcome, but also a place of sending as God's people go back into his world to do his work.
These should be true not just of cathedrals but of all churches, founded on faithfulness to the revelation of God in Jesus, welcoming all to join and sending out in peace to love and serve the Lord. Sounds a lot like a healthy church ... transforming life.
Richard Humphrey,
Dean of St David's Cathedral