Archbishop Frank Woods and his wife Jean were residents of East Melbourne from 1957 to 1977 when they lived at Bishopscourt. Their daughter Clemence was six when they arrived in Melbourne from England for her father to take up his appointment. In October 2008 Clemence gave a delightful talk to Historical Society members about growing up at Bishopscourt. Her talk is illustrated in our Bishopscourt Gallery.
As you will see an overwhelming impression from the gallery is that Bishopscourt, house and garden, was full of life. The family was, of course, central: children, games, dogs, study, celebrations, meals and music. But Bishopscourt was also where Frank did much of his pastoral and diocesan work so there were many visitors. Judging from Jean's extensive photo album most of the visitors engaged with the family as well. There were open days for church and community groups. And there were the endless cups of tea. Finally there was Frank's, and the family's, devotional life. The chapel played its special part as a place for private prayer and small ceremonies.
However, there is much more to be said about Frank Woods, and Jean, than can be included in one evening's programme about Bishopscourt.
Frank's family had a long tradition of religious service. His great grandmother was the Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. The Woods themselves were pillars of the Anglican Church. Frank's father, Edward Sydney Woods, was Bishop of Lichfield. His uncle, Frank Theodore Woods, was Bishop of Winchester. His brothers also went into the Church. Samuel became Archdeacon of Christchurch, New Zealand and Robin became Bishop of Worcester. Needless to say, two of Frank's children, Theodore and Clemence, also became ordained priests.
Frank's CV was impeccable for a distinguished man of the Church:
- Educated at Marlborough and Trinity College, Cambridge.
- Ordained priest in 1932
- Curacy at Portsmouth
- Chaplain at Trinity College, Cambridge
- Vice Principal, Wells Theological College
- Chaplain in the Royal Navy during the war.
- Vicar of Huddersfield
- Suffragan Bishop of Middleton
- Archbishop of Melbourne
- Anglican Primate of Australia
- Knight of the Order of the British Empire (did not take the accolade nor use the title "Sir")
However, perhaps Frank's influence on the church in Australia can be best summed up by Bishop James Grant in his introduction to the Frank Woods Endowment Centenary Appeal:
First encounters, very often determine future relationships. So it was with Frank Woods and the Diocese of Melbourne, and later the Australian Anglican Church. In 1957, Keith Rayner, the young Bush Brother in Southern Queensland who was himself to become Archbishop and Primate, wrote of the electrifying impact of Frank Woods' Enthronement Sermon: "it set the pattern for his Episcopate: a strong biblical foundation, the context of a challenging world, a broad catholicity, the need for a pastoral, a praying and an educated priesthood, the importance of the laity, the call to ecumenism. It was all there; and Melbourne knew it had found a true Father-in-God."
Building on this foundation he brought to the clergy new perspectives on ministry and spirituality and made their formation and care his first priority. He took seriously the ministry of the laity and strove to equip them to engage confidently with issues of faith and morals. His gifts as teacher and apologist were apparent in his Synod charges, his Refresher Courses and his Forward-in-Depth and Let's Pray Better programs. With Dr Davis McCaughey and Archbishop Frank Little, he created a unique ecumenical climate that bore fruit in such ventures as the InterChurch Trade and Industry Mission and the United Faculty of Theology. It was entirely appropriate then for Archbishop Little to introduce him to Pope John Paul II as "Our Abraham".
His faith was so rooted in a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ that he could afford to question and explore his faith while never losing hold of its essentials. He abhorred closed minds and intellectual timidity and habitually demonstrated an openness that was as refreshing as it was rare. His view of creation as the embodiment of God's love, and of humanity as its crowning glory, sustained in him an abiding interest in, enjoyment of, and concern for nature, science, the arts, indeed the whole range of human endeavour. As an exemplar for students of theology and incipient clergy, he stands supreme in the recent experience of the Australian Anglican Church.
I was ordained by him; I served as his Chaplain for four wonderfully happy and fulfilled years; and I was nominated and consecrated Bishop by him. He was a dear friend and constant inspiration, and he remains the dominant influence in my ministerial formation, as of many others.
More on Frank and Jean Woods can be found in the following tributes.