News

CHURCH ST NOTEBOOK (12 March)
By BY ALLAN REEDER
March 12, 2008
Church Street sign CHURCH ST NOTEBOOK: The lighter side GALAHS: Former QLD cabinet minister, now Grafton's Diocesan Registrar, Pat Comben, helps Gippsland's Bishop John McIntyre, rescue a galah. GALAHS: Former QLD cabinet minister, now Grafton's Diocesan Registrar, Pat Comben, helps Gippsland's Bishop John McIntyre, rescue a galah.

Get her to the church on time

The congregation was gathered together to bury the deceased, and they would have, if someone hadn't thrown the coffin into a ute and driven away.

It was an Anglican funeral with a serious twist in New Zealand this month when the body of a woman was taken by her daughter from the back of the hearse.

It all came down to a family dispute after the 76 year old woman had asked for an Anglican funeral but her daughter wanted a Maori ceremony.

The woman's niece Trish Scoble told TV New Zealand the body was taken just before the burial was due to happen.

"They took the casket out of the hearse, chucked it in the back of an Isuzu - and pulled away," Scoble told TVNZ.

It took a High Court injunction and more talking but the body was returned days later and buried after an Anglican ceremony in Hamilton.

 

There's a galah in bishopscourt

It's a description which wouldn't draw much disagreement in any one of a handful of Anglican dioceses around the Australian Church.

But there was an extra layer of reality that sent the feathers flying at the official residence of Gippsland's bishop John McIntyre recently.

It started off as a low-key meeting at the historic residence between Grafton's Diocesan Environment Commission chair Rosie Catt and secretary Lyn Comben to discuss environmental issues with the chair of the Australian Anglican Environment Network, Bishop John McIntyre.

Then someone heard noises coming from inside a boarded-up fireplace.

Sitting quietly as a by-stander was Lyn's husband Pat Comben, as it happens a former QLD cabinet minister, now Grafton's Diocesan Registrar.

It turns out Pat Comben's other hat as the Chair of the Australian Council of National Trusts was put aside as he dropped to his knees and began ripping boards from the wall of the heritage-listed Bishopscourt with his bare hands.

It became clear a Galah had fallen down the chimney and was facing a bleak future unless a rescue bid was mounted.

Maybe the McIntyres were planning some renovations anyway, but a string of heritage policies were quickly surrendered and a few moments later the bishop and Pat Comben were able to release the clearly weary but relieved Galah into the open air.

The bird's ensuing call was taken by all present as a thankful screech of appreciation.

Wordy

Anglicans are always good at using a complex word when something much more simple would do. Who else would talk about a narthex or a visitation?

They'll no doubt appreciate the skills behind the annual contest conducted by The Washington Post which asked readers to supply alternate meanings for common words. 

And the winners are: 

Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs. 

Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained. 

Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. 

Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp. 

Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash. 

Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller. 

Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.