anglican focus

The news site of the Anglican Church Southern Queensland: nourishing and connecting our faith community

Saints

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Mary and Martha of Bethany

“The Lucan account of Mary of Bethany listening at Jesus’ feet, rather than working to make the house ready for a guest, suggests that Jesus was, even here, subverting society’s strong norms, because it was a ‘man’s place’ to listen to and be taught by a rabbi – it was not a place for a woman,” says The Rev’d Selina McMahon

An image of Bishop Feetham distributed during a visit to the United Kingdom, c.1931 (Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London)
Features

Who was ‘The Blessed’ Bishop John Oliver Feetham?

“In 1961, the Diocese of North Queensland decided to commemorate a man who, though he had died 14 years earlier, loomed large in the Anglican community in that region…He came to be known as ‘The Blessed’ John Oliver Feetham…and is commemorated on 15 September each year in A Prayer Book for Australia. His remarkable life and connection to our Diocese are certainly worth commemorating,” says Archives Researcher Adrian Gibb

Features

Saint John Vianney: the Curé d’Ars

“The world knows John Vianney as the ‘Curé d’Ars’. He lived his entire life in a small corner of France and he never saw the sea or visited Paris. But his life was exemplary, and thousands of people visited Ars to see the holy man, to make confession of sin and to seek his counsel,” says The Ven. Keith Dean-Jones OGS, as St John Vianney is marked in our Lectionary on 4 August

Features

Julian of Norwich: 'all shall be well'

“Julian’s well-known phrase that ‘all shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well’ comes from a place of great depth that assists us as we, too, face serious global health challenges in the COVID-19 environment,” says The Rev’d Penny Jones on Julian of Norwich, who is marked in our Lectionary on 8 May

Features

A maverick medieval mystic for modern times

“The noble example set by Catherine of Siena, who recognised Christ in all whom she encountered and bucked social mores by caring for people living with infectious diseases, will hopefully inspire us as our global community experiences health challenges unprecedented in the modern age,” reflects anglican focus Editor Michelle McDonald, as St Catherine’s Feast Day is marked on 29 April

Features

Anselm of Canterbury

“Anselm of Canterbury was the most significant Christian theologian between Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas and is regarded as the founder of scholastic theology,” says The Rev’d Canon Dr Marian Free on St Anselm of Canterbury whose Feast Day is marked on 21 April