Ministers Desk 16th December 2012

The Church Council held its final meeting for the year on 19 November.  This meeting capped off a busy and productive year for the Council. 

 

Over recent months the Council has noted declining and erratic worship attendance figures.  We spent some time discussing possible reasons for these numbers and spent more time considering ways to address this.  Team Leaders presented reports on their activities for the previous three months.  These reports highlighted growth through our Explore Groups, that provide places for spiritual growth and pastoral care; developments in worship and personal daily bible readings; and the great time of community had at the church picnic. Team Leaders  are currently developing plans for 2013 that will bring further growth in our four focus areas Exalt (worship), Explore (small groups), Embody (service), Engage (Evangelism).

 

The Church Council discussed the sale of the old manse and purchase of a new manse.  The old manse at 253 South Pine Road sold on 23 November for $472 500 ($460 000 after commission and other expenses were deducted).  It is intended to buy a new manse for up to $520 000, with a budget of a possible further $30 000 to be spent on any needed renovations.  The congregation will need to enter into a loan for up to $90 000.  A manse search committee has been formed and are in discussion with real estate agents.  With the loss of the rental income from the manse, we are currently losing $200 per week.  Once a manse has been bought we should have an amount of $200 per week to service a loan.  This is the difference between the rent we’re currently paying for Harlee’s house and the amount of rent we were receiving for the property at 253 South Pine Road.

 

Arrangements are being discussed with an outside community group for that group to manage the bookings for the hall.  This arrangement will not affect the use of the hall by church groups.  However, it will affect the way that bookings are made.  It does not apply to other rooms in the church complex.  When the arrangements are completed it has the potential to increase the usage of the hall by outside groups, who will pay rental fees that will increase our income.  This is still being negotiated.

 

Over a number of months the Church Council has been working through procedures that relate to risk management and workplace health and safety.  As a Christian community of grace we have an obligation to ensure all people who participate in our activities are kept physically, emotionally, spiritually and sexually safe.  State Government legislation and Uniting Church policies place some very specific requirements on the congregation and certain individuals.  This means that we cannot avoid this area of life.  We have been looking at what this means and how we can comply with these requirements.  In 2013 we will be hold training and information sessions to let leaders and members of groups what their obligations are.

 

If you’d like more information about anything the Church Council has been discussing please contact myself or a member of Church Council.  Also remember that the minutes of the meetings are placed on the wall in the foyer nearest the kitchen.

 

Ministers Desk 9th December 2012

As the year winds down most of our groups and activities are coming to an end for this year.  We’ve had some great things happen this year.  Some of them have been big and have involved the whole congregation.  Others have been limited to a few people participating in a group.  Take a moment and think of some of the highlights for you this year.  For me it includes the Solomon Islands partnership and our trip, the Boys’ Brigade trip, the worship service and the abundant generosity to provide money for bibles.  I’ve also appreciated the way that the Church Council and Elders have developed as teams and the discussions and decisions we have made.  I also appreciate my Explore Group and the depth of intimacy and growth that we experience together.

 

As a congregation we have done and achieved much this year.  This couldn’t have happened without the active involvement of many people in our congregation.  Leaders and helpers, servers and workers all add up together to allow our activities to take place.  This is the way that the church should be.  Christ’s vision for the church was that we would all take an active part, each contributing our gifts and skills and serving each other. 

 

Thank you for what you have done this year.  In whatever way you have served in this congregation, please know that you have helped make this a place where disciples can be grown and the message of Jesus Christ can be shared. 

 

Although most of us don’t serve with a sense of what we get out of it, there is something about the way we are built that values the appreciation of others.  We like to be thanked and we are encouraged to do more when we know that others appreciate what we have done.  So as the year comes to an end, I encourage each of you to overflow with thanks.  Take the time in the coming week to thank people for what they have done this year.  If you’re a member of a group, of the parent of a child in a group, thank the leaders of those groups.  If you’re a leader, thank the other leaders and the members for their contributions.  Notice the contributions that people make around the church and thank people for their willingness to turn up regularly and do little and big things.  Some jobs take place regularly and in plain sight, without acknowledgment. 

 

Our thanks can be shown in a small and deliberate conversation or written in a letter or card.  Thank the person for who they are not just for what they do.  Be sincere.  Don’t put others down when you’re doing it (eg “I like the way you do this, better than [insert name]”). 

 

As we affirm each other we will build our community and encourage each other onto more acts of service.

Ministers Desk 2 December 2012

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the Church calendar. Typically the New Year is a time we reflect on the year past and share our hopes for the year to come. We make new years resolutions, boldly announcing that this year we will spend less time at work and more time with our family, this is the year we are finally going to start eating healthy or maybe this year we will finish that art class we have started so many times before.

There is nothing wrong with making plans and setting goals, but for the most part the kind of new years resolutions we make rise or fall on the back of our own effort, our own strength or determination. By beginning its calendar with the season of Advent, a time thick with anticipation of God’s fulfillment, the church reminds itself once again that our hope lies not in ourselves but in God.

Richard Rohr has written a book of daily meditations for the season of Advent titled Preparing for Christmas (I purchased it as an e-book from Amazon for less than $3). On the first page Rohr wonderfully captures what it means to live as an Advent people.

““Come, Lord Jesus,” the Advent mantra, means that all of Christian history has to live out a kind of deliberate emptiness, a kind of chosen non-fulfillment. Perfect fullness is always open to come, and we do not need to demand it now. This keeps the field of life wide open and especially open to grace and to a future created by God rather than ourselves. This is exactly what it means to be “awake,” as the Gospel urges us! We can also use other a words for Advent: aware, alive, attentive, alert, awake are all appropriate! Advent is, above all else, a call to full consciousness and a forewarning about the high price of consciousness.”

Richard Rohr – Preparing for Christmas: Daily meditations for Advent

This Advent may we practice living lives of ‘deliberate emptiness’ leaning into God’s great promises for us and our world.

 

Grace and Peace

Harlee.

Ministers Desk 25th November 2012

Many people believe that Winston Churchill said “You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.”  Apparently he never spoke these words.  Whoever first spoke them should be applauded for encouraging us to see that a great life is lived when we live our lives for the sake of others.

 

10 October 1908 in Dundee, Scotland, Winston Churchill did say the following words:

“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?  How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities and consolations of the infinite and the eternal?  And I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days.  Humanity will not be cast down.  We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun.”

 

When we think of our Christian faith it is one that is founded in selfless giving for the sake of others.  The very fact of Jesus’ birth, life and death were all for the sake of the redemption of humanity.  Jesus did not need to put himself through any of that.  As our reading from Philippians today tells us, Jesus knew the glory of heaven and intimacy of relationship with God even before his birth in Bethlehem.  Yet, he humbled himself and offered his life for our sake so that we may know the glory of heaven and intimacy of relationship with God.  We are known as Christ’s disciples.  Disciples are people who learn from their teacher and replicate his life in theirs.

 

During November we want to celebrate the service that many members of our congregation give.  Some give their service within the life of the congregation, others give it in areas away from the congregation.  This is great, because it’s important to know that our discipleship to Christ takes place in all aspects of our life, not just when we are on the church property.

 

As the year draws to a conclusion you may want to think about the service that you can give next year.  Consider whether you are living a life lived for others and seeking to make this a better world for those people that you share it with.  To do this you may need to stretch yourself in faith to step up to service in 2013, to step into an unfamiliar area of service, or to step down from something.  As an act of discipleship and to grow you in your faith, please prayerfully give consideration to where God would have you serve in 2013 so that we can celebrate your life as it is lived for others.

Ministers Desk 18th November 2012

One of the defining characteristics of the Christian church is the love that members show for each other.  Jesus said “I give you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.  This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”  As we read through the books of the New Testament we see practical ways in which the early church sought to live this out.  They came to the realisation that being known as followers of Jesus was more than acknowledging a set of beliefs; it was living a lifestyle that put their beliefs into action.  “So you see that a person is shown to be righteous through faithful actions and not through faith alone” (James 2:24).

 

One way that we seek to obey Christ’s command is through our practice of pastoral care for everyone, by everyone.  For many years we have pursued a model of care that places the onus on every member of the congregation to be aware of opportunities to express love for others through visiting, phoning, sharing words of encouragement, helping others with practical tasks and ensuring that no member of the congregation feels isolated or without a fellow Christ follower to support them.  Even though this has been our goal I know that it happens sporadically, some people receive excellent care, whilst others find it lacking.  I believe that this model more accurately reflects Christ’s desire for his church, where each person was called to be a servant to others.  In the early church they were devoted to one another (Acts 2:42) and recognised that they belonged to each other (Romans 12:5).

 

As part of the congregation the ministry team are available to offer pastoral care.  At any time, if you feel that you’d like to speak to one of us about an issue, I encourage you to contact the church office and make an appointment.  Just as you would initiate a visit to a doctor, a solicitor or other professional when you had a need to see them, please feel free to take the initiative to speak to one of us.  I have heard at various times people who have been disappointed that when they’ve wanted to speak to a minister that they have not been contacted.  Yet, that same person has done nothing to invite a contact.  We are not mind readers and many times will be unaware of what you are thinking.

 

There are two ways to request a visit.

 

1.      On the reverse side of the care cards you can tick a box that says you’d like a visit from the ministry team.  Care cards are also included with the notice sheet and extras are kept in the church foyer.  If you tick this box, you will be contacted and a time for a visit will be made.

2.      You can ring the church office (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9 am to 2 pm) and make an appointment. 

You can ask to speak to someone specific and none of us will be offended if you ask to speak to someone in particular.  We will be happy to come to your house, a coffee shop or meet at the church.

Ministers Desk 11 November 2012

Minister’s Desk

One of the defining characteristics of the Christian church is the love that members show for each other.  Jesus said “I give you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.  This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”  As we read through the books of the New Testament we see practical ways in which the early church sought to live this out.  They came to the realisation that being known as followers of Jesus was more than acknowledging a set of beliefs; it was living a lifestyle that put their beliefs into action.  “So you see that a person is shown to be righteous through faithful actions and not through faith alone” (James 2:24).

 

One way that we seek to obey Christ’s command is through our practice of pastoral care for everyone, by everyone.  For many years we have pursued a model of care that places the onus on every member of the congregation to be aware of opportunities to express love for others through visiting, phoning, sharing words of encouragement, helping others with practical tasks and ensuring that no member of the congregation feels isolated or without a fellow Christ follower to support them.  Even though this has been our goal I know that it happens sporadically, some people receive excellent care, whilst others find it lacking.  I believe that this model more accurately reflects Christ’s desire for his church, where each person was called to be a servant to others.  In the early church they were devoted to one another (Acts 2:42) and recognised that they belonged to each other (Romans 12:5).

 

As part of the congregation the ministry team are available to offer pastoral care.  At any time, if you feel that you’d like to speak to one of us about an issue, I encourage you to contact the church office and make an appointment.  Just as you would initiate a visit to a doctor, a solicitor or other professional when you had a need to see them, please feel free to take the initiative to speak to one of us.  I have heard at various times people who have been disappointed that when they’ve wanted to speak to a minister that they have not been contacted.  Yet, that same person has done nothing to invite a contact.  We are not mind readers and many times will be unaware of what you are thinking.

 

There are two ways to request a visit.

 

On the reverse side of the care cards you can tick a box that says you’d like a visit from the ministry team.  Care cards are also included with the notice sheet and extras are kept in the church foyer.  If you tick this box, you will be contacted and a time for a visit will be made.

You can ring the church office (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9 am to 2 pm) and make an appointment.

 

You can ask to speak to someone specific and none of us will be offended if you ask to speak to someone in particular.  We will be happy to come to your house, a coffee shop or meet at the church.

 

Ministers Desk 4th November 2012

“Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many” (1 Corinthians 12:12).  This speaks to me of the beauty, complexity and interdependence of the church.  The church, which is Christ’s body on earth is composed of many people, each contributing to God’s work in the way that we are gifted and called.  No one person can do it all and each person is needed to complete our ministry as a church.  During November we are going to acknowledge and celebrate the ways we serve and the contributions each of us make toward the ministry of Christ.

 

The nature of the church applies also within parts of the church.  Within groups and ministries individuals with different skills fulfil different roles.  This applies equally to the ministry team at Emmanuel.  Wendy, Harlee and I work together as a team in offering ministry, service and leadership to the congregation.  Through team ministry the skills and tasks of each member are complemented and we are able to concentrate on the tasks we are called to and to exercise the gifts that we have been given by God.  Some people may be unaware of the roles that we play in the church. 

 

Harlee is responsible for pastoral care and youth.  In this he seeks to facilitate our network of pastoral care for everyone by everyone.  In instances of acute need, and when asked for, he makes pastoral visits.  With the youth he is developing innovative models of youth ministry that develops practices of discipleship within our young.

 

Wendy is responsible for children and young families.  This year she has been leading a task group that has identified ways that our congregation can resource and ensure that the home is the primary place in which faith is nurtured and grown in our children.  She is also involved in Kidzone, Playgroup, Girl’s Brigade, Tiny Town and Kid’s Hope at Enoggera State School. 

 

I provide overall leadership to the congregation through Church Council and Elders.  Along with Team Leaders from Church Council, and others, I seek to provide ways for us to grow in our discipleship and express our purpose as a disciple forming community.

 

Being a team also means that we seek not to duplicate what each other is doing.  Even though Harlee and I are both Ministers of the Word and called to preach, you only get one sermon on Sunday morning.  It also means that we all don’t visit the same people, we don’t all attend the same groups and we don’t all become involved in the same activities.  This is not that we are not interested or don’t care, it is the reality of God’s work in and through this congregation.

 

I feel blessed to be part of this team and pray that we are a blessing to this congregation.  If you’d like to talk to anyone of us about our ministry roles, please feel free to contact us.  Our contact details are always on the back page of the notice sheet.