WINTER 2016 NEWSLETTER

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Norma Angelica Patterson
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We are planning our next Coffee Connection from 25 March 1 April 2017 for New England, far north west and down to Dubbo. We were excited to have the opportunity to promote W2W at Revive in May.

1 WINTER 2016 NEWSLETTER The Taskforce met last month for our AGM and to plan for next year. Our 2017 theme is 'Empowered'. We will hold a Time Out retreat at Kiah Ridge from 8-10 Sept 2017 and Time Out Elim from August Put the dates in your calendar now! We are planning our next Coffee Connection from 25 March 1 April 2017 for New England, far north west and down to Dubbo. We were excited to have the opportunity to promote W2W at Revive in May. I attended a 'live site' at Bathurst while Joy and Glenys gave out butterfly cupcakes in Sydney. We now have over 600 ladies on our enews database! We hope you will ask the women at your church to join our enews too! We have 186 members on our Facebook page - Baptist Women of NSW and ACT. We would love to double this number before the end of the year! This is a great place for us to share prayer points and news of upcoming W2W events and other women s events in our churches. We would also like to update our profile picture with new photos of women of God enjoying life. If you have photos you would like to share, we d love to see them! We are also striving for a more professional look for our publicity and consistent use of our branding. We have new business cards and if you would like some to hand out to the ladies at your church, please let us know. We have redesigned the Affiliation forms to make them easier to fill out online and return. We will be ing these out soon. Please consider supporting us, either as a group or individually as this is our main source of income. Shirley Moore IN THIS ISSUE Pg. 2 Be a Part of Something Bigger Pg. 3 Heaven Can t Wait - Review Pg. 4 God s Word is the Final Word Pg. 5 Bows and Arrows Pg. 6 Day of Prayer Upcoming Events UPCOMING EVENTS ELIM TIMEOUT RETREAT Where: Elim Camp Date: August 2016 EDGEWORTH MODEL TRAINS Date: 7 Sept 2016 AUS. BAPTIST WOMEN GATHERING Date: Nov 2016 PRAYER POINTS Pray for Shirley and her husband as they go on Sabbatical Pray for encouragement and support for the State Directors at their AGM Pray for outreach opportunities at the Hunter event Give thanks that we are part of a nation-wide movement, commited to reaching women with the gospel 1

2 BE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER (PART 2) Toni Rehrmann (National Director, Australian Baptist Women) Over the past 18 months it has been my privilege to be in the role of National Director of Australian Baptist Women. Women are looking to be encouraged and empowered to have an impact for God s Kingdom wherever He has placed them. This has particularly been seen in the number of women attending our State/ Territory conferences and other opportunities to come together, as well as Leadership Training events throughout the year. We have moved to a model of alignment with the Baptist Union DOMs (Director of Ministries) in each State/ Territory, and we are seeing continued growth and impact in our Baptist churches as women are released in their gifting and ministries. In Queensland, Cathy Knechtli has recently become the new Director of Baptist Women. Their ministry to women is done through conference days and weekends called She is right across most of QLD. In 2015 the theme for their conferences and weekends was She is...brave and they ran 5 conferences in Qld and one in PNG, which sounded very brave to me in itself! Central QLD and Toowoomba were run as Friday night/saturday conferences. Mapleton, Mt Tambourine and Atherton were weekend camps. In the past, far Nth QLD has been very dry spiritually. However, throughout this past year they have seen a big move of God in the lives of the women who were open in worship and are receptive to hear the Word and share their own stories. Some of the girls headed up to PNG to run two camps one for missionary women and one for national women. They had a fantastic time and the women were really blessed by it. This year the She is. team is planning to run conferences at all five places again (with the exception of PNG). IN either 2016 or 2017 Cathy is keen to see a conference being run in Outback QLD possibly in Mt. Isa. Even though this will be a costly exercise, she believes God is leading them to the outback women who often miss out on so much and experience spiritual dryness. As well as my current role as National Director of ABW I lead an amazing team of women in the Northern Territory. Our team is called TOGETHER NT or TNT for short and they are pure dynamite! We run an annual conference called the TOGETHER Territory Women s Conference. The theme for TOGETHER 2015 was Eternal Treasure Earthly Vessels and the women were greatly inspired around taking the treasure of the gospel with them and living it out wherever God has placed them in the NT. Attendance was around 165 at the Conference and approx. 95 women attended the Women in Leadership evening which we ran on the Friday evening beforehand. Our Conference day and Women in Leadership evening for 2016 will be held in May and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us as women come together from across the Territory - across denominations and - across all ages around the theme of He is For You. Through TOGETHER we have also 2

(PART 2 cont.) HEAVEN CAN T WAIT - REVIEW Toni Burchett been able to be involved in advocacy on both a local and global level. TOGETHER we can do more than we can do individually!

3 (PART 2 cont.) HEAVEN CAN T WAIT - REVIEW Toni Burchett been able to be involved in advocacy on both a local and global level. TOGETHER we can do more than we can do individually! Throughout the year ahead we are planning to visit some of our NT communities to experience mutual blessing among our indigenous sisters. And we hope to also travel to Nhulunbuy to run a day conference and share the vision of TOGETHER with the ladies in Arnhem Land. Along with you in NSW, we are all a part of something bigger than ourselves. We have a place to belong amongst the Baptist movement across Australia and I hope and pray that you are greatly encouraged and inspired through this picture of all God is doing in and through us to equip and empower and strengthen women to make a difference in their world both locally and globally. I have read Heaven Can t Wait by Nick & Yvette Wynne and can genuinely recommend it to anyone who might be searching for meaning in life. I found myself wanting to interrupt the reading of it to have a conversation with the authors to tell them I have had those same experiences myself. Like them, I have grown through being shown God s love, through what other Christians have been willing to share with me. The authors tell the story of how they have been called by God to share with others. I kept pausing and reliving my life s experiences and realising that we are on a journey with our Heavenly Father. The more we talk to Him and listen to Him the closer our relationship becomes and the more time we want to spend with Him. It amazes me how, when God asks you to do something, your initial reaction is to resist because you feel inadequate. Then you gradually become passionate about it because He provides you with the strength, knowledge and confidence to obey Him. While I was reading this I kept thinking of loved ones, and others, to whom I would like to be able to give this book. This book was written to appeal to both women and men as it is co-authored by a husband and wife team. It not only relates to family relationships, but to the journey of the individual. Heaven Can t Wait can be bought from Koorong for $

GOD S WORD IS THE FINAL WORD Sue Cossgrove We were blessed to see God s provision and protection during our four weeks in India. There are many stories to tell you about!

restored relationships because people trusted God to intervene.

4 GOD S WORD IS THE FINAL WORD Sue Cossgrove We were blessed to see God s provision and protection during our four weeks in India. There are many stories to tell you about! God was faithful and answered so many prayers, from cooler weather when Alan had a three day Pastors Conference; on the 47 C day we had no meetings and so could stay in the air conditioning, and restored relationships because people trusted God to intervene. It was our privilege to be part of two baptisms, the celebration of Dr Frieda Voola s life and ministry, foundation stone laying and the naming and presentation of a boy to God. As always we enjoyed the fellowship of old friends we have shared the past 25 years of ministry with and met some new ones, they all take good care of us. There were two families in particular who trusted God s word, prayed and waited by faith to see what God would do. The first was a lady who had been in a bible study on Philemon about 4yrs ago and she shared her testimony. There had been problems in her family and the son had left home. She had taken God s word and applied it to her life and family relationships. Since then God had restored the relationships and she wanted to tell of the gratitude and praise she had for God and the power of His word. our visit there was another attempt to resolve this situation that neither really wanted. The two sides met to discuss a solution. Alan was asked to be present and I went to the bedroom to pray. It was a heated discussion that seemed to be going nowhere. After a while when led by God, Alan spoke to the two families, both Christian, as to what God s word and heart is. There was dead silence and then Alan came into the bedroom. I asked him What s going on?. The other family had gone home and were planning to return in a day or so with all the family to have a time of reconciliation. We waited and prayed, as the situation was even more uncertain now as to whether there would be any change. All the family returned and there were tears of joy, confession and commitment to the future that would involve change for all involved. It was a real miracle and we continue to pray that the words now will be godly and seasoned with grace. Psa 141:3 NLT was the devotion on the Monday. Take control of what I say, O Lord. And guard my lips. Surely God s word is and has to be the last word. They are now to quote a happy family! Thank you to all who were praying during the time we were in India for ministry. The second family a few months before we arrived had seen the family relationships break down over words. Attempts to reconcile had not been successful. During 4

BOWS AND ARROWS Swansea Baptist Church Last year we made bows and arrows as part of KAW, our kids holiday program. They were a huge hit with the kids!

Supplies (from Bunnings and Spotlight): For Bow 1m x PVC Pressure Pipe 2m x Builders line 10cm x Pipe Insulation Duct tape different thicknesses, colours and patterns Permanent markers and stickers

You may need to file down any sharp edges. Fold the string in half and tie the two loose ends together to create a double string. (Note: don t use elastic string as it won t work.

5 BOWS AND ARROWS Swansea Baptist Church Last year we made bows and arrows as part of KAW, our kids holiday program. They were a huge hit with the kids! They were safe, something they hadn't done before and it got them outside! Supplies (from Bunnings and Spotlight): For Bow 1m x PVC Pressure Pipe 2m x Builders line 10cm x Pipe Insulation Duct tape different thicknesses, colours and patterns Permanent markers and stickers For Arrow 46cm x 9.5mm Tasmanian Oak Dowel 4cm of Pipe Insulation Paper towel Circles of cut fabric 25cm diameter (roughly!) Cable ties Instructions Cut a 2 cm slit in each end of the PVC pipe. You may need to file down any sharp edges. Fold the string in half and tie the two loose ends together to create a double string. (Note: don t use elastic string as it won t work.) Place the knot inside the slit at one end of the pipe. Pull the other end tight and make another knot about 10cms from the end of the string. (This should create a loop at the end and the sting will be shorter than the PVC pipe.) To get the 2nd knot into the 2nd slit, stand the pipe on its first end vertically on the ground. Step (yes, with your foot!) on the middle of the pipe to bend it. Apply pressure on your foot to bend the pipe enough so that the knot slips into the slit. Take the black pipe insulation and place it around the bow where you think you might put your hand to hold the bow. Use duct tape to lightly tape it in position. (Don t do it too tight or loose, so you can move the grip if you need to.) For more info and pictures, visit Use a file to make a 1cm deep, 2mm wide notch in one end of the dowel. This will be used to slide into the string when planning a shot. Wrap a 4cm wide piece of paper towel around the opposite end of the dowel and glue it in place. Glue the 4cm pipe insulation around the paper towel. Wrap the cut fabric around the end of the pipe insulation. Secure the fabric with a cable tie and remove excess cable tie. And now you have a fantastic bow & arrow set! For more info and pictures, visit 5

6 DAY OF PRAYER Jan Finlayson Our thoughts for Day of Prayer were influenced when we were told of ladies who, out of their poverty, put aside a handful of rice each week as their offering to Day of Prayer. We felt we needed some way of following this example so we gave out money tins for the ladies to use. We also set up a trading table to sell knitting, handwork, jams, gift items etc. at ladies' events. UPCOMING EVENTS TIME OUT ELIM RETREAT August 2016 Featuring Margaret Livingston and 6 workshop choices Contact Sue Cossgrove susan.cossgrove@coslen.com.au HUNTER EDGEWORTH MODEL TRAINS 7 September 2016 This event is for pre-schoolers and outreach ministry. Contact Sue Cossgrove susan.cossgrove@coslen.com.au We celebrate Day of Prayer on the first Monday evening in November with a coffee and dessert evening and we follow pretty much the prepared program, reading the various greetings and testimonies as well as one of the ladies presenting the Bible Study and someone presenting the projects that will be funded in the year ahead. We follow the prayer guide and copies are also made available to ladies in their Bible study groups and also the following Sunday. We may not have a big roll up on the actual day but we promote it year-long through the trading table, encouraging women to pray and give year-round. AUSTRALIAN BAPTIST WOMEN NATIONAL GATHERING November 2016 Australian Baptist Women AGM Pray this will be a time of encouragement and support for State Directors SHIRLEY ON SABBATICAL 20 September January 2017 Pray as Shirley and her husband do ministry teaching in Africa before a well-deserved holiday. Last year we asked our ladies to join in a 'global gathering' of Baptist women. 6

WOMEN TO WOMEN NEWSLETTER. Summer 2017

WOMEN TO WOMEN NEWSLETTER. Summer 2017 WOMEN TO WOMEN NEWSLETTER We are empowered! By Shirley Moore Summer 2017 This year W2W has been focusing on the theme Empower. When we allow God to empower us to do His work through Christ we are able