Newsletters


“ For God is love and those who live in love, live in God. ”
1 JOHN 4:16


February 2021 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS

December 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• GOD BECAME HUMAN

November 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE

October 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• PRAYER CHANGES

September 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• OVERCOMING ISOLATION

August 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS SPEAKS AT THE SPECIAL ZOOM SYNOD

July 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
1 JOHN 4:18

June 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• “For God is love and those who live in love, live in God.”
1 JOHN 4:16

May 2020 – ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS

• Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” MARK 10: 14

ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

February 2021

NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS

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CQ FIRST – Vol2 Issue1 - NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS

Most of CQ has had some good rain in recent months. Driving through our outback towns so much has turned to green. Life has sprung forth, where not so long ago, all was dry, dusty and thirsty.

Jesus once stood amongst the people and shouted “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” (John 7:37) Jesus was echoing the words of Isaiah “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.” (Isaiah 55:1) However, what Isaiah looked forward to some 700 years
earlier, Jesus claimed that he came to fulfil! “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them,” (John 7:38) When Isaiah spoke about the thirsty coming to the waters to be satisfied, he used it as a metaphor to describe the effectiveness of the word of God.

“…so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) It is no accident that John later described Jesus, as the Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) As we come to Jesus, we come to the Living Word of God who gives us life, life eternal, life abundant.

As I complete the task of leading our Diocese through this interim year between Bishops, and prepare to leave the Diocese for our nation’s capital, my hope and prayer is that all readers of CQFirst might come to Jesus, and that having come, that you would build God’s Church on his life-giving Word.
May God richly bless you and all the people of Central Queensland under the leadership of our soon to be Bishop Peter. May the grace and love of God be with you all.

The Ven Tom Henderson-Brooks



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

December 2020

GOD BECAME HUMAN

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue10 - GOD BECAME HUMAN

As a child, the excitement surrounding Christmas was almost unbearable! Decorations would pop up in stores and in shop windows. The smell of a fresh pine tree filled our home. The music would change around us. Cards from people near and far would flood in and be slotted across closed venetian blinds. And of course, presents would begin to appear under a tinsel laden tree, with sacks of chocolate money hanging tantalizingly.

As a child, the wonder and miracle of the season was focused on family, gifts and yummy food. I had little to no understanding of the reason for the season... it seemed to have a lot to do with Santa...

As an adult, now that I have a solid understanding of the reason for the season, the wonder of the Christmas miracle is a thousand times more profound.

As an adult, I understand that here, at the centre stage of human history, something revolutionary, something earth-shattering took place. God became human! God became one of us! The Word became flesh and dwelt among us!

At this point my brain begins to explode with all the wondrous possibilities of what this means for us, for humanity, for eternity. God cares. God has a plan. God has something to say. God risks vulnerability. God dignifies. God embodies hope. God is faithful. God acts. God is patient. God is ordinary. God is humble. God challenges my values. God draws out faith. God is in charge. God is to be worshipped, loved and adored.

And then, as an adult, God grows up. God suffers. God willingly goes to the cross. God bears my sin, so I will sing the wondrous story of the Christ who was born for me and who died for me. Merry Christmas!

The Ven Tom Henderson-Brooks



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

November 2020

CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue9 - CAN I TRUST THE BIBLE

Thank you to everyone who has continued to read and also contribute to CQFirst. This month our focus is on The Bible. Can we trust it? In our modern era of presidential tweets that have led directly to the creation of 'fact-checking' algorithms, the battle for truth in our world is alive and kicking.

In the beginning God said... In the beginning was the Word... The God whom we worship is a God who speaks and communicates. This is my Son, listen to him!

This month, Luke Collings writes about what the clergy focused on after Synod, 'improving their preaching', amongst other things. Rob Stanley reflects upon the nature of truth. Jen Hercott discusses the historicity of the Bible, Philip van't Spyker encourages us to read the Bible with our kids and Matt Taylor does the same at University.

Thanks to Phil Ward and Val Gribble for writing about the Rev Jacki Lake and Archbishop Allan Migi respectively, who both recently finished 'running the race'.

I can taste Kareen's Dad's Curry from here! The motions passed (not curry related) from our recent Synod are reprinted here, along with a COVID-19 Update. I heartily thank the Rev Jen Hercott for working with me responding to COVID-19 all year in order to help keep us all safe.

Finally, I draw your attention to the CQFirst Photo Competition, with prizemoney and flag that information about our Annual Diocesan Christmas Appeal is coming to Parishes this week and will raise money for Newton Theological College and Christ the King School, in PNG.

The Ven Tom Henderson-Brooks



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

October 2020

PRAYER CHANGES

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue8 - PRAYER CHANGES

Since launching CQFirst back in March, my aim has been to produce a short magazine that encourages us in our walk with God. The theme this month is Prayer, so vitally important for our own spiritual health and also the spiritual health of our churches. My thanks to everyone who has contributed to this edition.

Dianne from the Cathedral has written about her 'prayer quilt' - a visual reminder of our Lord's resurrection and therefore the hope and confidence in which we pray. It currently hangs in the Cathedral for all to reflect upon. Rev Andrew from Wandal, and our Rockhampton Hospital Chaplain, has written about praying with those who are dying. Andrew shares his experience of the importance of prayer, 'until our final breath'.

Rev Philip, from Keppel, and our Diocesan Children's Minister, writes about how we can encourage our children, and grandchildren, to become prayers from an early age. Thus, in one sense, this edition of CQFirst covers Prayer, from the cradle to the grave! Finally the Mother's Union share about how they use 'Prayer Trees' to pray specifically for those affected by domestic violence in our community.

Synod is fast approaching. One of the issues being discussed is the role of GAFCON. Originally I had planned 'for' and 'against' GAFCON articles for this edition. I have held them back for after Synod. They did not sit well with this month's focus on Prayer, whereas next month's CQFirst will focus on the Bible, and can we trust it? Instead, I have shared some of my own thoughts and experiences of being Anglican.

The Ven Tom Henderson-Brooks



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

September 2020

OVERCOMING ISOLATION

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue7 - OVERCOMING ISOLATION

"We are living in difficult times." I'd like a dollar for every time I've heard someone say that or something like it, in the last six months! By the end of August it was official - "Australia is in a recession." Paul Keating once told us in the 1990s that 'it is the recession we had to have'. Well, these hard economic times also mean for many people - a period of tough personal times, and knowing that we all 'had to have it' doesn't make it much easier to endure.

For me, the holiest day of the year and the day I draw the most comfort from, is Good Friday. From the cross Jesus cried out in total isolation, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matt.27:46) He was, of course, still quoting the Scriptures, even as he died, as he brought Psalm 22 to his lips and mind.

The total abandonment of Jesus, the Son of God, on the cross was so that you and I might never have to go through being totally abandoned by God. "Lo, I am with you always" declared the risen Jesus before he ascended back to the Father. (Matt.28:20)

There's a tiny, little, but super strong Greek word that gets used repeatedly in the New Testament - 'dei' - it simply means 'must'. The Son of Man, 'must' suffer and die. There was no other option. Jesus was, and is, the Saviour that we had to have!

When I discovered the truth of what Jesus did for me on the cross, the truth of what his sacrificial death accomplished, for me - I found that my life was transformed. No longer was I alone and isolated, even when I felt really low. As you read stories of overcoming isolation in these pages, I pray you remember Jesus, who went through an eternal isolation on the cross, so you don't have to.

The Ven Tom Henderson-Brooks



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

August 2020

ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON-BROOKS SPEAKS AT THE SPECIAL ZOOM SYNOD

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue6 - Bishop-Elect Peter and Virginia Grice

Growing up, one of my favourite NRL players was the legendary Queenslander, Arthur Beatson. Artie was the master of breaking through a tackle by getting one arm free and then off-loading a one-armed pass. Sometimes, whoever ran onto his pass would receive the most massive hospital pass. The defence would read the play and the hapless attacker would be flattened or knocked out cold! But more often than not, with Artie, that potential hospital pass became the moment of beauty that put his teammate through the gap and into the clear to score.

I am so thankful to God for the step of faith that our Bishop-Elect is making along with his wife and family. He is willing to come, without even being able to meet us due to coronavirus. He is willing to serve God and us, by catching that hospital pass and heading for the gap.

He doesn’t know, and we don’t know if it’s going to flatten him or turn into the most beautiful linebreak we have ever. But we are all going to follow him, because he is following Jesus. Therefore, he and his family, need our prayers, our support and our love.

With thankfulness to God in my heart, I announced the successful election of The Very Reverend Peter John Grice as the 13th Bishop of the Diocese of Rockhampton.

The Episcopal Announcement was made at the Special Session of Synod, via Zoom, and livestreamed on Facebook on Saturday 18 July.

Bishop-Elect Peter then responded, "As a former outside centre I hope it leads to something beautiful. So we’ll see what we can do. Thank you very much everyone."



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

July 2020

 

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue5 - PERFECT LOVE

Our theme this month is God's perfect love. However, when I came to write, the news of the brutal killing of Karen Gilliland, mother of three, in Wandal, Rockhampton, was confronting us all with shock and horror. I found myself unable to write about God's love and decided that I needed to write about us. What's wrong with us? Why do we as human beings keep on committing such acts of atrocity against one another? Are there just a few 'bad eggs' among us in the community? Or is there something deeper crouching within, ready to spring?

My Bible reading that morning was Genesis 4:1-16, the profound story of Cain and Abel! It is so disturbing that the first offspring of Adam and Eve escalates sin all the way to murder.

There is something deeply and profoundly wrong with humanity. The Bible calls it sin and the problem is - we seriously underestimate it.

Last month our family watched The Terminator (1984) again, for old time sake, but we 'goggleboxed' it. (We watched it simultaneously synchronised in different states with an audio connection to each other.) Sarah Connor is running for her life. She takes refuge in a crowded pub, then at a police station with dozens of armed officers... the Terminator (a human looking robot from the future) is unstoppable. Everyone seriously underestimates its predatory nature. Likewise, humanity seriously underestimates the power of sin.

In Genesis 4, God is saying to Cain - you don't know the power of the sin in your heart - "sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you". It is not just that sin is humanity's greatest problem, but that we don't even see that it is. We underestimate the power of sin in our hearts. God tells Cain (and us) at least three things in Genesis 4:7. Sin hides. Sin is powerful. But there is hope.

Firstly, sin crouches. It hides itself. The image is of a predatory cat, like a lion or a leopard, hiding down low and small, ready to pounce, ready to strike. Our sin appears smaller than it really is. We rationalise our sin away. We minimalise our sin. Cain's sin began with harbouring envy and jealousy in his heart. As envy festers it grows into hate and in an irreversible moment it has leapt into violence and murder. It all starts in a very ordinary everyday way. God says, you don't see what is crouching at your door. Ordinary people are capable of monstrous things. Society has been fooled by the hiddenness of sin.

Secondly, sin is powerful. It wants to have you. It wants to devour you. When we sin, we create something that stays with us and wants to chew on us and devour us. New York pastor Tim Keller,
puts it this way. "After you've done a sin, the sin does you. Sin is not done with you after you're done with it." Haters are eaten with hatred. Liars are eaten with lies. Cain's problem was not Abel. It was within himself. Cain reaped what he sowed.

Finally, there is a word of hope. Sin can be mastered and defeated. Thinking back to The Terminator, sin is like the Terminator. Sin is after us and wants to devour us. But there's a moment
when Kyle, a soldier also from the future, says to Sarah Connor, "Come with me if you want to live." He protects her and even gives his life to save her. As soon as sin entered the world (Gen.3), God
promised humanity an offspring who would stomp on the serpent's head. An Offspring Saviour who would deal a decisive but costly victory over Satan, evil, death and sin. (Gen.3:15)

When God confronts Cain for murdering Abel, God says "your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground." Human beings matter to God. The blood of every extinguished
human life cries out to God from the earth. God cannot let their cries go unheard. To do so would be to treat humanity like trash, for God created us good. Therefore sin cannot
be overlooked, it has to be defeated. That's what Jesus did.

Not only did God in Jesus identify with humanity, as one who was also cruelly and unjustly murdered, God in Jesus, willingly poured out His blood as the means for our forgiveness. The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:24) The writer of Hebrews continues in vs.25, "see to it that you don't refuse him who speaks."

God offered Cain a way out, the way of repentance. God makes that same offer to every human being, all of us who have sin crouching in our hearts. It is the offer of himself, of his perfect love, sublimely revealed in Jesus, that drives out all fear, all darkness, all sin.



ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

June 2020

“For God is love and those who live in love, live in God.” 1 JOHN 4:16

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue4 - ISOLATION

I was recently reflecting on how I was glad that Caroline and I were not actively parenting young children through these present COVID times. It led me to decide that we need to focus one of our early editions of CQFirst on our kids and our families. For many of our congregations across the Diocese, our children and families are nearly extinct!

Therefore, without a shadow of doubt, they are the most precious people in our churches. It’s not that the rest of us are unimportant, but that our Diocesan and Parish priority needs to be on ministry to, with and amongst children and their families. Otherwise, may the Anglican Diocese of Rockhampton rest in peace. But there are many stories of tender green shoots breaking through the dry parched landscape, that is our church.

Jesus said "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongsto such as these." MARK 10: 1 4


ARCHDEACON TOM HENDERSON - BROOKS

May 2020

 

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CQ FIRST – Vol1 Issue3 - LET THE CHILDREN COME

There is no greater cry of isolation in all history, than that of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

This month's CQFirst focuses on ISOLATION. Whether it is the isolation of seafarers unable to return to family; the lack of grey nomads out west; or isolation accentuated by the death of a loved one, like our beloved Herb, or Nathan Turner from Blackwater, the youngest COVID fatality in Australia; this issue of CQFirst is about hope, in the midst of isolation.

Hope is found in the provision of basic needs. Hope is found as communities connect through perseverance and technology. Hope is found in a friendly phone call, a welcome message, or an act of kindness and love. And hope is found in the church, that is, in God's people actively loving each other and caring.

Jesus' cry of isolation on the cross was also a cry of love from God, and therefore a cry of hope for us. For it was precisely because of God's love, that Christ died for us. The more we can point people to the love of God found in Jesus, the more they will be truly set free from their isolation, for eternity. Jesus is our hope.