Dear Marsden Road Friends,
As I sit at the keyboard and begin writing, I realise that we are about
to pass yet again one of the important feasts of the Christian Churches
Calendar, and that is the feast of Pentecost.
I am reminded that over recent years these feast days and there passing
have spoken more and more to my situation. As some of you will know that over
the last two decades there have been periods that have been traumatic for me
personally and in many ways, this could be said to be true for the congregation
also.
Yet, for all of us these times have been a process of learning, growing
and starting and restarting the process of healing for ourselves. I still feel
that I am along the path of healing enough to start focusing on ministry for
the remainder of my years. But I do wonder how we, as the body of Christ in
this place are to live out our role as the congregation in this place. What is
to be the shape of the congregation to be as changes rapidly take place in our
community and in the church community? What is our future as an independent
congregation as the demographic of our congregation is so different to the
surrounding community now? What is the face of our leadership to become as the
age grouping of most of our congregation is in the higher bracket?
But back to the feast of Pentecost which I began this reflection with. Pentecost
is a special time of year for the Christian Church. It is a time when we thank
God for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our world. We give
thanks to God for our abundant lives over the last year and commit ourselves to
his service in covenant for another year. We have from scripture several
symbols to help us understand this animal, we call the Holy Spirit. The symbols
are fire, wind and the dove. I'd like now to explore what we can discover about
these symbols that may help people understand a part of the Christian beliefs.
Fire - Fire is an extraordinarily strong force. A coal
or wood fire is beautiful (I am not considering the environmental factors here)
to watch, to see the colours dance before our eyes, as the flames move and
change their shape. Fire can be very gentle and warming, very soothing and
relaxing; that is to say, when you sit in front of a big open grate or
fireplace in winter, and let the warmth of the fire take away aches and pains,
as well as carrying our thoughts on mysterious adventures, as the flames move
and writhe about like living creatures, and suggest distant landscapes...
Yet, on the other hand, fire can be one of the most destructive forces
in the world. A fire in the city can be terrifying, especially when it breaks
out in a tall building and there is all the problems of reaching trapped
people. And out in the bush, have we not seen on our TV screens - if not in
actual fact - forest fires, burning up and devastating all forms of life as it
rages through the bush? Yes, fire has a great power, a terrible strength, a
great gentleness and a strange beauty.
Wind - The wind has similarities to the fire. It can be
beautiful or a terrifying sight to watch, when it blows through the trees, over
the fields and over the sea; the trees and the waves can be gently moved or
violently thrown about. Branches whip savagely, the spume and froth is blown up
onto the shore, and we feel the spray on our faces. I have memories from the
Solomon Islands of going scuba diving with the sea calm and then trying to
enter the water with great rollers which showed me both moods that the wind can
exhibit.
Many of us can probably recall the winds of a storm or a cyclone
building and roaring through or past where we are situated. Yet a moderate wind
can create a lovely and enchanting dance, almost like a strange ballet; yes,
the wind has enormous power and strength but yet can produce very beautiful
effects, as it blows through the trees and plants, and moves the clouds in the
sky.
The Dove - The third symbol we associate with the Holy Spirit
from scripture is that of the dove. The dove is mentioned in the passage about
the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. In Mark's Gospel, we read that
"the Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove". It is this event that
has given us the dove as the symbol of the Spirit of God. The dove is a very
beautiful bird, and a white dove can seem unreal in its beauty. At the same time,
it is a bird with great energy and can fly considerable distances. The dove is
also a messenger and can carry our news or some important communication tied to
its leg. A dove will defend its nest and brood with considerable strength and
force when needed.
We can also find the dove in the Old Testament stories. It is the bird
that brought the olive branch to Noah, in the ancient story of the Flood. This
is where the idea of the dove as a messenger of peace seems to have come from,
since that branch was a message of peace from God to the humans surviving the
great destruction of that strange event. It along with the symbol of the
rainbow has been
taken on by the organisation Greenpeace. We also get the expression
"holding out an olive branch" when we want to be reconciled with our
enemies.
Being a Christian - Being a Christian is
never a very easy way of living; the Holy Spirit is God's messenger and way of
showing care and interest and sending power and strength. The symbols of the
Holy Spirit serve to remind us that the Spirit can be like the fire, warming
and bright; like the wind, powerful and fresh; like the dove, a messenger
bringing news and hope.
In our daily lives we need the Spirit's help; and with that help we can
be alight like the flames, powerful like the wind, and with a message like the
dove, carrying to all the news of the love of God. This may help some
understand why the Holy Spirit becomes so important to Christians and where
many Christians get the strength and courage to face the pain and sufferings of
their lives. God has lovingly given us this presence to enable and empower us
like the fire, wind and the dove. I would like to share with you the following
poem with love.
Warming bright fire,
Powerful fresh wind,
Messenger of peace and hope in the dove.
Fire us with that spirit,
Fan us with that love,
Empower us with that eternal hope,
That love and hope of God.
Present to us in the Spirit.
May we hear and courageously believe.
Let us be one with you O God through that Spirit.
“BLESSED
ASSURANCE” and “TO GOD BE THE GLORY.”
Researched & Written by Ron Burwood.
As some of you may recall I have previously written about some of the
hymns I like and the writers of same.
Just recently I was thinking about a good old hymn “Blessed Assurance”
and decided to look into the background of this. It was written by an American hymn writer,
Frances Jane Crosby, who was blind and wrote some 9,000 hymns, Frances was
known to all as Fanny. This hymn is very well known to us and was Hymn #422 in
the MHB but is not in TIS and was sung on many occasions when I was growing up.
In 1873 Fanny was visiting her friend Phoebe Knapp at her home where
she was having a large pipe organ installed. The organ was not complete, and
Mrs Knapp played on her piano for her friend a new melody that she had just
written. After she finished Phoebe asked Fanny “What do you think the tune
says?”, Fanny Crosby replied, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine.” She then
wrote the full lyrics as we know them.
These were printed in July 1873 in a magazine called “Guide to
Holiness and Revival Miscellany” with the full words and music score. In
the magazine it was indicated that the words and score had been copyrighted by
Crosby that same year. It is not sure if this was the first publication of the
hymn, but it helped popularise it and of course it became one of the much-loved
hymns of all time. Because of the lyrics the tune became known also as ‘Blessed
Assurance”. As you will know the words of the first verse of Blessed
Assurance are: -
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of Salvation, purchase of God;
Born of His Spirit, washed in his blood,”
In addition, search into this hymn led to another favourite “To God
Be the Glory”, this being Hymn #313 in the MHB and #147 in TIS with the
first verse this being: -
“To God be the glory! great things He hath done!
So, loved He the world that He gave us His Son;
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin;
And opened the Life gate that all may go in.”
This hymn was written by her and had the tune, also with the same
name, written by William Howard Doane and was first published in 1875 in Lowry
and Doane’s song collection “Brightest and Best”. However, it appears that
Fanny wrote this hymn around 1872 as it was already popular in Great Britain
before its publication in America. Ira Sankey had introduced it there during
Moody’s 1873-74 evangelistic campaigns.
“To God be the Glory” failed to achieve wide usage in the United Sates
and was only included in a few hymn books. Billy Graham’s song leader, Cliff
Barrows, was given a copy with the suggestion that it be added to the song book
for the London Crusade. It was so popular there that it was included in his
Crusade at Nashville, Tennessee where the audience responded so
enthusiastically it was used often in the crusade meetings. With such exposure
the hymn rapidly became familiar to Christians and is included in most modern
hymnals. The Methodists had the jump on these later hymn books as it was in the
MHB dating from 1933 and maybe earlier editions which I do not have.
The words of these two hymns as above and their other verses together
with the choruses give a very great insight into the beliefs of the woman who
was Frances Jane Crosby. I think that we all know and love these hymns and
enjoy singing them whenever we get the chance.
Much of the following information I found in an article on another
website written by David Furse Roberts to commemorate the bicentenary of
Frances birth and at the end of the article he says to share this website with
others. As her life story intrigued me and I decided to share extracts from
this site with you. The earlier information has been found on other sites.
Frances suffered from blindness from an early age and during her long
lifetime of some 95 years championed education for the blind, campaigned
against slavery and dedicated her latter life to rescue mission work bringing
the hope of Christ to alcoholics and the unemployed in the slums of Manhattan.
Francs Jane Crosby was born in Brewster, New York on 24th March 1820
and was heir to the rich Puritan tradition of the American northeast. Its
Calvinist values of total dependence upon God, moral integrity, frugality and
self-discipline defined her lifelong work and ministry.
Her early life was marked by personal tragedy as at just 6 weeks of
age she lost her eyesight but instead of cursing this loss she later said that
it was “the greatest blessing the Creator ever bestowed on me”. For Crosby, the
blindness she experienced in this temporary life gave her hope that the first
vision she would have in the life to come would be that of Christ her saviour.
At six months of age, she lost her father and was then raised by her
mother and maternal grandmother who grounded her in Christian principles and
helped her memorise long passages of the Bible. Drawing on her remarkable
memory, she had ready inspiration for penning thousands of her hymns.
Educated at the New York Institution for the Blind, she excelled
academically in English literature, science, philosophy and music, mastering
the piano, harp and guitar. Frances remained at this Institution as a student
and then a teacher for 23 years.
In this capacity, she emerged as a vocal advocate for the education of
the blind and in 1846, she became the first woman to speak in the United State
Senate. Shortly afterwards, she addressed a joint session of the United State
Congress to advocate for support for the education of the blind in Boston,
Philadelphia and New York.
Whilst raised as a Christian, Frances actively dedicated her life to
Christ in 1850 when she knelt before the altar in New York’s Broadway
Tabernacle. Later, she joined the Sixth Avenue Bible Baptist Church in
Brooklyn, where she served as an urban missionary, deaconess and lay preacher
in conjunction with her prolific output of hymns.
Fanny was a follower of the Wesleyan holiness movement and her hymns
frequently celebrated the new birth to be found in Christ and the beauty of
living a life dedicated to the service of God. Working closely with evangelists
Moody and Sankey she helped the birth of the “Gospel Hymn” of popular music set
to popular verse.
Frances was also a patriot who cared deeply about the moral wellbeing
of her country and its people. With slavery being part of her early childhood,
she became a lifelong abolitionist and ended up supporting Abraham Lincoln’s
new Republican Party. With these devotions Crosby composed multiple anthems and
ballads rallying her compatriots to fight for liberty and the abolition of
slavery.
In 1858 she married Alexander van Alstyne a fellow teacher whom she
had met in1843 and at his insistence she retained her maiden name. However, in
the MHB I note that her hymns, there are 8 in total, are all under her married
name.
They settled in a rural village outside of New York and in 1859
Alexander and Frances had a daughter who died in her sleep shortly after birth.
Naturally distraught Frances wrote “God gave us a tender babe, but the angels
came down and took our infant up to God and to his throne.” It is believed that
this inspired her to write the much-loved hymn. “Safe in the Arms of Jesus”.
Frances continued her hymn writing, rescue mission work and public
speaking engagements until her final days. She died at Bridgeport; Connecticut
in February 1915 just short of her 95th birthday.
Her prolific hymn writing put many of the Bible’s words to song. The
focal message of her hymns was the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Her
ministry in both deed and song was impelled by the belief that people needed to
be converted and finally her activism expressed itself in her rescue mission
work and public advocacy for the blind, the poor and the captive.
In addition to the above website, I found another one which contains
much more detail about Jane. What an amazing person she was from a very young
age. At the age of eight she wrote her first recorded poetry and later she
would write as many as seven a day which were converted into hymns – no wonder
she was able to write over 9,000 hymns over her life time. Her first one at the
age of 8 years was very deep and I feel that this should be included here, and
it goes: -
“O what a happy soul am I!
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world,
Contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy,
That other people don’t.
To weep and sigh because I’m blind,
I cannot and I won’t.”
She also said “Mother, if I the choice, I would still choose to remain
blind for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my
blessed Saviour”. At the age of 90 she declared, “My love for the Holy Bible
and its sacred truth is stronger and more precious to me at ninety than at
nineteen.” Asked about her long years, she said her secret was she guarded her
taste, her temper and her tongue. A famous saying of hers over the years was
“Don’t waste any sympathy on me. I am the happiest person living.”
As I said what an amazing
lady she was and if you want to read more details about her go to the website –
www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bcrosby16.html. There is too much in it
to include here.
From
Small Beginnings
In the four gospel stories about the feeding of the
great crowd we hear something similar in each. In our three-year lectionary we
are using those for Year B based on Mark. However, in the year of Mark we also
use the readings from John 6 in regard to feeding and the bread of life.
Jesus is teaching on a hillside - there are over
5000 people there, and when evening approaches the disciples become concerned,
they fear that the crowd will go hungry,
and their solution is to ask Jesus to send the
crowd away.
But Jesus says to them - you feed them, and he asks
Philip - who was from the region in which the story takes place, "where
shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" Philip replies, "eight
months wages would not buy enough bread to for each one to have a single
bite" Immediately afterwards Andrew, who has found a boy with 5 loaves and
two fish among the crowd, pipes up about his discovery - and then adds -
"BUT how far will they go among so many."
How far indeed? The scene is set then for us to
meditate upon and see what it says about the way of life which Jesus calls us
to as part of the Kingdom
of God here and now.
There is a great need. And there are not
enough resources to meet that need. It all sounds so familiar, doesn't it? You
can hear words like this just about any time, especially when there are social
or political problems that require an infusion of resources.
How can we help with what little we have? We don't even know how we will we make do
ourselves.
- How can we feed so many? How can we fund so many? We have so little, and the need is so great.
- What we can do is only a drop in a bucket. We don't have enough money to help out. We don't have what it takes.
And we can also hear the same tune about our
emotional and spiritual resources when confronted with problems of caring for
those who are lost and alone, those caught up in guilt and despair, in doubt
and confusion. The chorus goes something
like this, doesn't it?
We don't have enough time.
We don't have enough energy.
We aren't smart enough.
We aren't wise enough.
We haven't the training we require.
We aren't professionals.
There aren't enough of us to make a real
difference; there aren't enough of us to get the job done. But Jesus, didn't listen
to this from his disciples, rather, like the prophet Elisha in his time, he
took that which was offered to him in faith, blessed it, and handed it back to
his disciples so that they might distribute it. Just as Elisha commanded his
servant to give the twenty loaves of bread that he had received to the people
anyway, saying, "They will eat and have some left over", so Jesus,
after giving thanks to God, divided the five loaves and the two fish, and
begins to feed the crowd.
And there was enough to go around. And there were
leftovers - so many that there was more than there was to start with. What
voice do we listen to in these stories?
The voices of the disciples - the servants - who
say, when told to feed the crowd - there is not enough - it is impossible. Or
the voice of the one who tells us "feed the people" and who takes
what we have to offer and makes it enough? Mark, Matthew, and Luke all begin
their account of the feeding of the great crowd by saying when Jesus saw the
crowd he had compassion for them that he cared for them.
Jesus asks us to do the same - he asks us to care,
to have compassion, and to go out into the world, and teach, and heal, and feed
the people. That is part of the great commission which says, "Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you."
This is part of the commissioning Jesus imparts to
Peter just before his ascension saying, "Do you love me Peter?" and
when Peter says, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” he says to him
"Feed my sheep”. We are called to be like Jesus - - we are called to feed
those in need, to feed them with both the bread of heaven and the bread worked
upon by human hands. And we are not left alone in the doing of it. God's power is promised us in it. All we need to do is to do is bring what we
have, as did the man of Baal Shalishah to Elisha and as did the boy on the
hillside to Jesus.
To bring it with thanksgiving - as Moses
commanded.
To bring it with joy - as the boy must surely have
brought Jesus his meagre offering.
To bring it - not with regard to what it might or
might not be able to do - but with regard to the one to whom we present it, with regard to God and God's love.
The story of the loaves and the fish show us that
Jesus is used of God and that he has the power of God and it shows us too that
God cares. It also shows us that what is small and insignificant in the face of
this world's need can, when offered to God, be multiplied and provide for the
world what is needed. Miracles all have
beginnings, and almost always those beginnings are to be found within us.
Several years ago I heard the story of a man named
Paul.
Paul had received a special pre-Christmas gift from
his brother. It was a beautiful new car
- ready to go. On Christmas Eve, when
Paul came out of his office, a street kid was walking around the shiny new car,
admiring it. "Is this your car,
mister?” the kid asked. When he replied that it was, and that his brother had
given it to him for Christmas, the boy said, "You mean your brother gave
it to you, and it didn't cost you anything?
You got it for free? You got it for nothing? Gosh, I wish..." The boy hesitated, and
Paul knew what he was about to say. He
had heard it many times over the past few days.
He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said shocked Paul. "I
wish", the boy said, "I wish I could be a brother like that." We
can be a brother like that or a sister like that for that matter. All it takes
is that we offer ourselves and what we have to God. All it takes is that we
cease to worry about how little we have and begin instead to think about what
it is that we can offer.
This is why in the last Sunday’s in Easter before
we enter this season of Pentecost, we remind ourselves of our call to be wise
stewards of the gifts that God has given us in this world. To be able to live
out that stewardship enables us to be able to say: “Praise, be to God who
multiplies that which is given to us, day by day. Amen.
TOILET PAPER and HAND TOWELS
At Marsden Road
Uniting some of you may have noticed that we use a different Toilet Paper and
Paper Towels. We get these from a company called “Who Gives a Crap.” Yes,
that’s their company name. We purchase from them for a number of reasons,
including price, environment and their support of putting in appropriate
technology toilets throughout the world.
Though they're
still growing, and now make more than just toilet paper, they always want to
stay true to their roots: toilet humour and making the world a better place.
This is why we
purchase from them despite their outlandish name and sense of humour,
especially on their products. A number of congregation members also purchase
from them for the homes and if you want details if you would like to support
this group please go to https://au.whogivesacrap.org/ or talk to Lyn
Colless, John Candy or Chrisanthi Maddison.
SERVICES for June 2021, July 2021, August 2021
|
Date
|
Sunday
|
Hebrew Scripture
|
Epistle
|
Gospel
|
|
Jun 06
|
Pent 02
|
1 Samuel 8:4-20
|
2 Cor 4:13-5:1
|
Mark 3:20-35
|
|
Jun 13
|
Pent 03
|
1Sam 15:34-16:13
|
2 Cor 5:6-17
|
Mark 4:26-34
|
|
Jun 20
|
Pent 04
|
1 Sam 17:32-49
|
2 Cor 6:1-13
|
Mark 4:35-41
|
|
Jun 27
|
Pent 05
|
2 Sam 1:1,17-27
|
2 Cor 8:7-15
|
Mark 5:21-43
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 04
|
Pent 06
|
2 Sam 5:1-5,
|
2 Cor 12:2-10
|
Mark 6:1-13
|
|
July 11
|
Pent 07
|
2Sam 6:1-5,12b-19
|
Eph 1:3-14
|
Mark 6:14-29
|
|
July 18
|
Pent 08
|
2 Sam 7:1-14a
|
Eph 2:11-22
|
Mark6:30-34,53-56
|
|
July 25
|
Pent 09
|
2 Sam 11:1-15
|
Eph 3:14-21
|
John 6:1-21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 01
|
Pent 10
|
2 Sam 11:26–12:13a
|
Eph 4:1-16
|
John 6:24-35
|
|
Aug 08
|
Pent 11
|
2 Sam 18:5-9, 31-33
|
Eph 4:25–5:2
|
John 6:35,41-51
|
|
Aug 15
|
Pent 12
|
1Kgs 2:10-12; 3:3-14
|
Eph 5:15-20
|
John 6:51-58
|
|
Aug 22
|
Pent 13
|
1 Kgs 8: 22-30, 41-43
|
Eph 6:10-20
|
John 6:56-69
|
|
Aug 29
|
Pent 14
|
Song 2:8-13
|
James 1:17-27
|
Mark 7:1-8,14-23
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Humour
A Christian guy named Bill saw an ad online
for a Christian horse, so he went to check it out. The horse’s owner said,
“It’s easy to ride him. Just say ‘Praise the Lord!’ to make him go and ‘Amen!’
to make him stop.” Bill got on the horse and said, “Praise the Lord!” Sure
enough, the horse started to walk. “Praise the Lord!” he said again, and the
horse began to trot. “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” he yelled, and the
horse broke into a gallop. Bill was enjoying his ride so much that he almost
didn’t notice the cliff he and the horse were about to go over. Bill shouted
“AMEN!” at the top of his lungs, and the horse stopped right at the edge of the
cliff. Relieved, Bill said, “Phew! Praise the Lord!”
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 2021 1 9.00am ACOMP Exec
meeting
5.00pm
SCCP Standing Committee Meeting
3 10.00am SCCP Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting
6 9.30am Pentecost
2 Sunday Service Holy Communion
10 1.00pm
PRC Meeting
11 5.00pm
Synod Standing Committee Meeting
13 9.30am Memorial Service in Pentecost 3 Sunday
Service
14 Queens Birthday Observance
16 2.00pm PYPP Meeting
17 10.00am
SCCP Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting
20 9.30am Pentecost
4 Sunday Service
22 SC Agenda
meeting
22 UCA Anniversary
24 7.30am Local Ministers Meeting
Rev John on Leave
27 9.30am Pentecost 5 Sunday Service
28 10am PRC Agenda
Meeting
29 5.00pm SC Meeting
July 2021
1 10.00am SCCP Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting
4 9.30am Pentecost
6 Service
6 Rev John returns from Leave
9.00am
ACOMP Exec meeting
8 1pm
PRC Meeting
9 9.30am
Synod SC Meeting
11 9.30am Pentecost
7 Sunday Service Holy Communion
15 10.00am SCCP
Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting
20 9.30am Pentecost 8 Sunday Service
21
10am PYPP Team Meeting
22 7.30am Local Ministers Meeting
25 9.30am Pentecost 9 Sunday Service
27 5.00pm SC Agenda Meeting
August 2021
1 9.30am
Pentecost 10 Sunday Service Holy Communion
2 10.00am
PRC Agenda Meeting
3 9.00am ACOMP Exec meeting
5.00pm SC Meeting
5 10.00am SCCP Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting
8 9.30am Pentecost
11 Sunday Service
12 1.00pm
PRC Meeting
15 9.30am Pentecost 12 Sunday Service
18 10.00am SCCP Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting
6pm SCC
Presbytery Meeting
19 10.00am SCCP Presbytery Life and Witness
Executive Meeting.
22 9.30am Pentecost 13 Sunday Service
24 5.00pm SC Agenda Meeting
29 9.30am Pentecost 14 Sunday Service
30 10am PRC Agenda Meeting
31 5.00pm SC Meeting
NOTES FROM COUNCIL
and COMMITTEES
Church
Council
Covid-19
While
we continue our Face-to-Face Worship our Covid-19 Safety Plan continues in
operation and is updated in line with the changing Government Covid-19
regulations.
Supplies are being purchased by
the Education and Social Committee for use after each session of worship.
Service
Matters
Elaine will seek a second
person to assist with Communion preparation.
It was agreed that tongs will
be provided for Communion Services to enable bread to be served when supplies
of the Covid safe cups runs out.
Currently we place a Bowl is placed
near the foyer for retiring offering placement. This will change as regulations
change.
Parramatta
Mission
Davyn from the Mission is to be
invited to speak/preach at our service in late October early November. He has
agreed to share with us on October 24th, 2021.
Sunday Kids
There
are now no teachers available to attend to this and alternative arrangements
are being put in place. This involves making class notes ready in case the need
should arise.
The
young person’s talk during Services will also go into abeyance and the Worship
leader will have a talk ready to use if needed. This may be on readings other
than those set in the lectionary for that Sunday.
Property Committee
·
The report was received
and accepted with the following additional comments:
·
Artisan Stone has investigated the water leakage
problem and provided a quotation for necessary works.
·
A quotation of $132,000 plus GST was received.
·
The work is becoming more urgent following every
rain event.
·
There is difficulty in getting relevant companies to
quote.
·
Possible funding ideas and sources were discussed.
Flooding
in Livingstone Room
There is no easy option
available to halt the flooding during rain events and it is believed one of the
drainage pits becomes blocked and needs regular clearing.
It has been suggested that a clean-up
take place in the Livingstone and Walker Rooms on a Saturday afternoon. This is to take place later this year.
Notice
Board Deterioration
The notice board at the front
of the church has reached a stage where replacement of boards is required. It is planned that a different colour scheme
be used this time to enable it to stand out to those passing.
Elders
Group
The Elders have not had a meeting since COVID. Their
proposed date for their next meeting is 25th May 2021.
Nurture
Group
The first meeting for Nurture Group this year was
held on 25th March. We are trialling lunchtime meetings instead of
the evening. We begin at 11 30am with a simple shared lunch and continue with
our program as before and finish at 2.00pm.
Property
Sub-Committee
Repairs have been completed to the “barge board” eave above the external door
into the Vestry.
Works
· A report indicating the need of repairs to arrest
water ingress into the roof cavity of the church has been received. The best
course of action to affect these costly repairs is being assessed.
· Water is still entering the downstairs Livingstone Room. To help address
this problem, the Korean Rainbow Congregation requested permission to remove
the carpet tiles and paint the floor and walls. This action makes it easier to
remove water which otherwise would have soaked the tiles. We are grateful for
the interest and concern of the Re. Kyou and his congregation in helping to
maintain the property.
· The Notice Board has deteriorated and needs parts replacing.
· Rear Fence – the badly deteriorating fence we share with
6 Maismonde Place was replaced on Friday 30 April with a “like for like” i.e.,
treated pine timber.
· Memorial Gardens
- Prospective contractors have
attended and examined the site. The committee awaits a commitment from one of
these qualified persons to offer suggestions for rejuvenating the area and to
submit a quote for the work to be undertaken.
Social and
Education Sub-Committee
The last meeting was held on 14th May
2021and the following Officers were elected:
Chair: Jan Roden. Deputy Chair: Kaye Baker
Treasurer: Chrisanthi Maddison. Dep Treasurer: Lyn
Colless
Secretary: Elaine Forrest. Dep Secretary: Lyn
Colless
Overall Goals
·
To provide as many activities as possible for people
to join and to have events we can invite new people to so that they can grow
into their membership of the Marsden Road church family.
·
To raise money to help Charities.
·
To be responsible for Morning Teas (except
Friendship Circles Morning Teas.)
Suggested Activities
Equinox/Solstice Outing: Bundanoon, Monday 21st June.
Simply Sharing Tea: “So They Can” Sunday
27th June.
Equinox Outing: Kurrajong Monday 20th
September.
Barbecue: Frontier Services Sunday 24th
October
Pop Up Picnics Mobbs Lane Park Dates to be decided.
Financial Matters
It was agreed that we send $500 to Community Aid.
It was agreed that when there was $200 in the jar
for Parramatta Mission, that we would add another $200.
It was agreed that this Committee would be
responsible for the purchase of Wipes, Sanitiser, and plastic bags.
General Business
It was suggested that Elaine make an appointment
with the Manager at Alan Walker Village to ask for any suggestions that he
might have for ways that Marsden Road Church could connect with members of the
Village e.g., Trivia Night, Indoor Bowls.
It was proposed that at the next meeting we think
about a picnic at Lake Parramatta, Christmas Party or not and a Bring and Buy a
Meal.
Finance
Position
The
Chart below shows our income and expenditure over the last twelve months. It
must be noted that the closure of the Church for worship and other uses during
the Covid-19 Pandemic has reduced our income from offerings, but we have
received grants from the Government to help with the loss of rent and support
for wages. These grants have of course now ceased and our giving for the last
few months is less than our ministry costs. We need to consider again our own
giving and stewardship. Please look at your current giving and if possible
increase it.
Christian Community Aid (CCA) provides a diverse range of support
services to people living, working and studying in the Ryde, Parramatta and
Hornsby Local Government Areas.
Their
vision is to engage with the community to enable better lives. For 50 years they
have been working to provide personalised, timely and innovative support that
addresses the existing and emerging needs of people. CCA aims to develop
resources and capacity that will contribute to strong, inclusive and resilient
communities.
Thank you
to all who support this very worthy cause including bringing to Marsden Road
Church non-perishable food items. Please remember that even the smallest
contribution helps.
CONGREGATION
Our mission: to reflect Christ
alive in the Community.
You are Welcome to join us at Marsden Road Uniting! We gather to worship together at 9.30am every
Sunday morning.
We hope that you will experience the presence of God in this place and
among the people of God here. All are welcome.
Website: www.marsdenroadunitingchurch.org.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MRUCC082016/
Parramatta Mission amid COVID-19
As
a church that provides hospitality, community and clinical services, Parramatta
Mission are at the forefront of supporting individuals, families and
communities who are disadvantaged, vulnerable & doing it tough.
During this difficult time of COVID-19 Parramatta Mission continues to
assist those in need.
On the frontline, Meals Plus is operating as an essential service. In
fact, our work here has never been more vital as more people in the community
face increased hardship.
Many of their services are continuing to remain open so that they can
support our clients.
Our prayers for our services and the staff who are on the frontline
facing the impact of Covid-19 would be greatly appreciated. If you would like
to contribute to their work at this time, please visit www.parramattamission.org.au/donate
Humour
At
our weekly Bible study, the leader asked an elderly gentleman, Walt, to open
the meeting with prayer. Walt did so in a soft voice. Another man, straining to
hear, shouted, “I can’t hear you!” Walt replied, “I wasn’t talking to you.
Children’s Puzzle
