Resources & Research
“I have been writing worship music for nine years. I never planned to be a songwriter, but a trusted friend felt God impress upon her that I had songs within me to release. I nearly laughed when she told me this – the idea seemed so absurd. Yet when I sat down for the first time to write, I found an unexpected joy. I knew I’d discovered a new part of myself,” says Penny Howchin from St Andrew’s, Springfield
Reflections
“As part of a world-wide campaign to end the Vietnam War, musicians wrote and released songs that resonated with listeners. Many of these songs still do. John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ is a classic – it is often sung at big international charity events…And, Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Vietnam’ was hailed by Bob Dylan as the ‘the greatest protest song ever written’,” says Bob Randle from Holy Hermits Online, as he reminisces on iconic music of the 1970s
“I sought to produce a portrait work that would capture the spirit of someone distinguished in the arts or other aspects of Australian culture, and naturally thought of Graeme and his contribution to youth music. Having been one of his young students once, his teaching has greatly shaped my appreciation of art and culture,” says Lily Zhu on Dr Graeme Morton AM
“In one of our FOCUS camp sessions, the children were given the option to try something new – songwriting. A small group of interested children came forward and worked collaboratively to write both the lyrics and the catchy melody of a song they titled ‘God with us’,” says Bettrys Lowe from St Bart’s, Toowoomba, while inviting other parishes to use the YouTube song video in their services and providing songwriting and recording tips
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School recently hosted its annual Classics in the Cathedral – an opportunity for the wider school community to come together in an intimate atmosphere to experience a vibrant and exciting evening of music performances
“As a star, Aretha was a mostly private person, so the unexpected disclosures hit hard. That the film builds to the most emotional climax in its last few moments makes you forgive some arguably choppy pacing and disappearing characters,” says anglican focus film reviewer, Jonathan Sargeant
“Many of the connections we made on our recent trip will continue and will give birth to new connections for a long time to come. One person we met told us their relative was in hospital in Toowoomba 1000 km away from home and family, and we were able to organise someone from our Ecumenical pastoral care team to visit them the very next day,” says hospital chaplain and St Bart’s, Toowoomba parishioner Jodie O’Shannassy
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