WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK?
UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA Key Mission – Spiritual Growth through Hospitality
Today 9.50am Singing prior to worship 10-11.00approxWeekly Worship Service 3pm-5.00pm Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Mon 10.00-2.00pm ACRO Tues 8.30-11am Healthy Lifestylers Wed 8.00am Walkers & Talkers 10-11.30am Coffee & Chat Sat 6.30-10.30pm Beyond the Sunset Next Sunday members of the congregation will lead worship, This week’s lectionary readings are: Genesis 32: 15-28; Psalm 17: 1-7, 15 Rom 9: 1-5; Matthew 14: 13-21
PENTECOST 9 -THEME: “STRUGGLE” NEWSLETTER 6THAUGUST 2017 “Celebration of Life”
Welcome and warm greetings are extended to Rev Geoff Tiller who is leading worship this morning in which the Sacrament of Holy Communion will be celebrated. Greetings to the gathered congregation. Visitors are also welcome, we would be pleased to meet you personally as we share morning tea after the service concludes.
PHOTOGRAPHS - Currently new photographs are being taken in preparation for a new display. If you haven’t had one taken, please contact Hugh Baddams – he’s available today. Thank you. WALKERS & TALKERS GROUP will meet at Frogmore Road at 8am next Wednesday morning (9/8) for a Linear Park walk. Come, you are welcome to join us. Our Offering Envelope scripture quotation for today is: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you ... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid” (John 14: 27). Last Sunday’s offering amount was $712.70. Rev Geoff Tiller Wednesday & Thursday Church Office Email: Website
Ph 8271 9183 or 0418 808 973 Email –
[email protected] 93 Crittenden Road, Findon, 5023 Telephone: 8445 2332
[email protected] Westernlink.ucasa.org.au
Editor’s Email
[email protected] Deadline for information for the next newsletter is 9.00am Wednesday
A Prayer Before Worship Loving God, hold me when I have struggles in my life. Remind me of your generosity and care. Amen
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PRAYER POINTS FOR THIS WEEK Give thanks for this new day. Draw near to those whose nights are long and filled with pain. Grant them the knowledge that Your love is with them even in their struggles. Thank you for the gift to communicate with You through prayer. Help us to make this a regular daily habit to enable us to know what Your will is for our life. Pray for those whose lives have changed for them, and are now facing a time of rehabilitation. Bring healing & wholeness O God. Pray for the relatives and friends of victims of the ever increasing road accidents – surround them with Your love dear Lord, and help them to adjust to a new life following bereavement. Remember to pray for the people of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Western Samoa & Tahiti.
From the Minister’s desk
Let Them Both Grow Together (Part 2) In talking about the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, I think the churches get this wrong more often than they get this right. Churches, way more than they'd care to admit, get into the weeding business only to discover that they can't tell the wheat from the weeds. More, I'd go on to make this provocative claim: To get into the weeding business is what marks you as a weed. Weeding is what makes you one of the bad guys. Exhibit A: The religious authorities of Jesus's day and their exclusion of "tax collectors and sinners." Robert Capon in his book Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus has an interesting observation about this parable. Specifically, he notes that the root of the Greek word--aphete-translated as "let" in the command of the farmer ("let both grow together") has two related meanings in the bible. One meaning is the meaning found in the translation above (NLT), the notion of "to permit" or "to allow." But the more common meaning of aphete in the bible is "to suffer" and "to forgive." This is the word Jesus utters from the cross: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." This really amps the meaning of the parable. Rather than weeding the farmer is asking the workers to forgive the weeds, to suffer their existence. We might say the parable is presenting us with two visions of Kingdom life. On the one side are the weeding Christians, those wanting to identify, sort out and burn the weeds. And on the other side are those Christians who live alongside the weeds manifesting forgiveness and patience. And we do know this: the weeding Christians will have all the best arguments on their side. Weeding, we know, is good farming practice. It's the sensible and right thing to do. But the logic of forgiving the weeds and allowing them to grow alongside? That's no logic at all. It's only the foolishness of the cross. Rev Geoff
MODERATOR’S VISIT - HERITAGE SUNDAY Planning is underway for this special day on our calendar and will be held on 20th August, 10.00am when Moderator, Rev Sue Ellis will be the Guest Preacher. It is our hope that a very good welcome, particularly in numbers, will be afforded her, and the day will be one of the highlights of the year. Could you please mark your diary now and make this day a priority? A special morning tea will follow the service when there will be opportunity for her to meet as many people as she is able. SOUP & PASTY LUNCH Congratulations to the Community Connections Team and their helpers who provided a great day of fellowship, food and laughter last Wednesday week. Well-done! The occasion was enjoyed by us all. $407.00 was raised.
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ORDINATION Monday 14 August, 7.30pm, Uniting College for Leadership & Theology Recently, there has been an increase in discussion of ordination. Many within the Uniting Church have been calling for the Church to more clearly identify younger people God is calling to ministry - particularly as Ministers of the Word and in the Ministry of Deacon. Led by Rev Prof Andrew Dutney, this evening session will help address questions about ordination in the Uniting Church. This gathering, with an extended Q&A, will cover: • An introduction to the Uniting Church’s understanding of ordination • What it means to be an ordained minister in a post-Christian cultural context. • A specific outline of the process of discernment and formation. The event will include cheese and drinks. RSVPs should be sent to Eloise Scherer on 8416 8420 or
[email protected]