‘Reaching Forward: From a Rich Heritage to a Certain Goal’ is subtitled ‘The Presbyterian Church of Victoria 1859-2009’ and is authored by Allan and Mairi Harman. Its publication coincides with the 150th anniversary of the formal union of various Presbyterian churches to form the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.
So, why is it featuring here? Three reasons. Firstly, I received a complimentary copy while Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of South Australia. Secondly, from 1997 to 2003 I was priveleged to pastor one of the PCV’s Congregations, namely Mordialloc. Thirdly, according to a map of charges reproduced within the booklet, Mount Gambier was one of the foundation churches of the PCV, and remained a part of it until the early 1950s.
This is not an exhaustive account by any means. Weighing in at around 70 pages of text, that’s slightly less than half a page a year. But in 12 brief chapters the Harmans provide a straghtforward and irenic outline narrative of the PCV’s decisive historical markers. They also provide enough reference to other contemporary events to enable an appreciation for the fact that the denomination itself grew within a rapidly growing and changing culture.
The tone throughout is not so much celebratory as appreciative. There is always much reason to give thanks to God and this monograph portrays the particular blessings which the PCV have enjoyed. The fact that the Presbyterian Church of Australia as a body has returned to a more confessional and biblical framework over the last thirty years is remarkable in world Christianity, so material of this type is very useful.
It is not the place of the such a work to look critically, but the book touches on many issues that others will study and write on in the future. Having had such central roles in the life of the PCV since the time of church union, it is probably not the Harmans are best suited to that work but to those who follow, those who will be able to examine and evauate events with the same skill that the Harmans did in their first 10 chapters.
The scholarship and research of the authors is worn so lightly and woven so easily into the work that some form of bibliography would have assisted those who wished to further their own reading and study of the PCV.
This link is to the PCV website where copies can be ordered.
Finding a quote is hard. This is the second last paragraph:
‘The PCV knows that its tasks can only be accomplished by the power of God’s Spirit. No matter how strongly a church may hold to the Gospel, its mission is fulfilled only when human effort is accompanied by blessing that originates with God. Mere adherence to orthordox Christian teaching is unsufficient in itself. Christians must show in their daily lives the transforming power of god, and display the true marks of devoted servants of Christ. The Gospel is to be preached but also modelled before a watching world.’
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