South Turramurra

The noise is boisterous. The joy is unbounded. And the teaching is not only fun, it’s straight out of the Bible. This is how it looks when a bunch of people with intellectual disabilities (along with their families, carers and anyone else who feels like coming) get together for Jesus Club Church – a service created just for them at St Paul’s, Castle Hill.

Canberra and Goulbourn Bishop Dr Mark Short has been elected as the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia. The election is significant as the position, regarded as ‘first among equals’ in Australian bishops, had traditionally gone to a ‘metropolitan’ bishop from one of the major cities. Bishop Short graduated from Moore College in 1997 and later was aawarded a PhD from the University of Durham in England.

When children are turning seven, they usually have a long list of toys and trinkets on their birthday wish list. When Freya from Roseville College was in Year 2, she only had one thing on hers: that her friends and family would donate to Shalom Pre and Primary School in Tanzania in lieu of buying her gifts. Now in Year 5, Freya says that she has always been struck by the need of girls like her who are in such a different situation. “Birthday parties usually have lots of presents,” she says.