Jocelyn Kellam, St Paul’s Anglican Church, Naracoorte
The fifth Bishop of the Diocese of the Murray, the Right Rev Keith Dalby is coming to St Paul’s Naracoorte on 30 October 2022 for the Blessing of the Fleece.
“Shearing sheep is something quintessentially Australian”, he said “and it is a great honour to be blessing this act”. There are many passages in the Old Testament which refer to sheep shearing.
“In the New Testament, sheep are God’s people”. The Bishop is the shepherd who carries the crook and is responsible for looking after the flock” he said.
“We have a habit of following our own ways. We all make mistakes and go off on a frolic of our own – much like sheep who dart off in the opposite direction to what the farmer wants,” he observed.
“But every sheep and every person is important to God. When one sheep strayed, Jesus left the 99 and went looking for it”.
The Rector of St Paul’s Fr Wayne Corker said “We are acknowledging South Australia history and the importance of the wool industry.
The first sheep were from Saxony, and also Leicesters and Southdowns from England and the Cape of Good Hope. These sheep reached the colony with the 1836 settlers. Two years later, the first wool was shipped back to England. And, history records that, as it is frequently said,
“Australia rose to riches on the sheep’s back,” Hence the importance of the blessing of the fleece. It reminds us of all the good things God gives us.
It is important that we do not lose sight of the importance of nature and our connection to the Land.
“The earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord.” said Bp Keith. “As Christians and as South Australians, in this time of climate change, we all need to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth”.
He continued: “This idea is not new. I did a search on blessing of the fleece on Trove, the national archive database. I found that nearly 70 years ago on 31 January 1953, the Bishop of Tasmania the Right Rev Cranswick warned that “When a nation loses its touch with Mother Earth, on which all depended so much, man would quickly lose touch with God”.
The service will be held at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Naracoorte at 10am on 30 October. Everyone is invited.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
