Weekly reflections

Dear Friends! There was lots of joy to go around on Sunday! Joy in the beautiful music (thank you to James and our talented and burgeoning choir!), joy in giving to Communities@Work, joy in prayer (I loved the quote from Rebecca’s Baptist women friends!), joy in flower arranging (and stewarding and teaching our children and youth – don’t forget to be in touch, joy seekers! 😊) and even joy in simply entering the church building!   Another impetus for joy Read more…

On Sunday Jeanette preached on peace and one the beautiful words of Isaiah 52:7-10, “How beautiful upon the mountains a the feet of the messenger who announces peace.” But she also gave us a new way of thinking about the end of this passage, “The Lord has bared his holy arm…and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”  “The arm of God,” she said, “is holy not just because anything belonging to the Lord Read more…

While I was looking for pictures of jacaranda trees for Sunday’s slide show, I came across this story about the jacarandas of St George and Sutherland Shires in Sydney – https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-19/the-story-behind-the-jacarandas-in-sydneys-south/13638852   In 1952 Sister Irene Paxton who ran a maternity hospital began giving jacaranda trees to young mothers, asking them to plant them in their backyards and watch them grow, as they watched their children grow. The name of the maternity hospital was Jacaranda Hospital! For the people of St Read more…

Would you like to hear some good news for a change? Do you know someone else who would like to hear good news for a change? This Sunday is the start of Advent; the time of preparing for the birth of Christ into our lives and into our world. It is good news for a change! And it is good news for a change – news that brings transformation to us and through us! Over the next four weeks, in Read more…

Dear Friends, It was puffer jacket weather in church last Sunday! In my new role as pastor/amateur meteorologist it looks like this coming Sunday will be mid-teens – so perhaps you’ll still need a coat or cardigan in church! As mentioned in last week’s Sunday to Sunday, we are following the current ACT Government guidelines for public indoor gatherings. We are able to have up to 90 people in the church (so we’ve abandoned our alphabetical system) and we are Read more…

Dear Friends, Thanks to Friday’s further easing of restrictions, everyone is welcome at church this Sunday! No more worrying about street names! We will however ask that you continue to wear a mask (unless you have a medical exemption). The ACT Government still strongly encourages wearing face masks in public indoors gatherings such as places of worship, but we would encourage it even more because: we are engaging in a higher risk activity (singing) we cannot always maintain a social Read more…

Dear Friends, It was lovely to have people in church last Sunday – those who live on streets from A to H! This Sunday we are hoping to see those of you on streets from I to Z! The numbers are restricted to 45 in the church, but there will always be room in the ‘overflow’ space in the hall, and an opportunity to meet new people and catch up with friends – without masks – outdoors afterwards! (And if Read more…

Dear Friends, It is times like this we need to remember “what a friend we have in Jesus”. Last Sunday morning, Merle White, a long-term member of our church and a good and loving friend to many of you, passed away. Don and their children, Elizabeth and Peter, and the rest of the family are grieving deeply and appreciate your prayers for them. There will be a small service, for family and some friends, at the crematorium next Monday to Read more…