The Anglican Parish of Belmont serves the communities of Belmont, Belmont South, Croudace Bay, Floraville, Marks Point & Valentine.

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1 REGULAR WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday : 8.00 am Traditional Holy Communion followed by morning tea 9.45 am Holy Communion with activities for children followed by morning tea. Saints@6 Third Sunday evening of the month at 6pm Prayer and Conversation (no Holy Communion) Wednesday: am Holy Communion (shorter than the Sunday Service) followed by morning tea. Messy Saints -THIS IS CHURCH FOR OUR YOUNGER SAINTS & THEIR PARENTS WHERE IT DOESN T MATTER IF THERE IS NOISE OR MESS! Messy Saints happens on the 2nd Sat. of the month, in school term, at 5pm starting with a meal in the hall. Everyone is welcome at all or at any of these services and events! For Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals contact our Parish Priest. REGULAR EVENTS Craft, Coffee & Chat Parish Hall 1st & 3rd Wednesday 10am Noon Fellowship & Lunch Parish Hall 2nd Wed am (no charge) Bible Study Groups various talk to the Parish Priest Belmont Men s Group meets in the Hall at 6pm on 1st Tuesday Evening Mothers Union meets at 7.30 pm on 3rdTuesday of the month Day MU Group meets on 4th Wednesday after am service. Belgrandies (Grandparents as Parents group) meets Mondays pm during School term. Meditation Monday at 9am. Parish Markets 3rd Saturday 8am-1pm. Cursillo (contact Bart Byrne ) Parish Council meets 2nd Wed at 7.00 pm ******************* Parish Priest: The Reverend Canon Janet Killen mobile priest@belmontanglican.org.au Church Address: Church St., Belmont NSW 2280 (PO Box 116, Belmont ) The Anglican Parish of Belmont serves the communities of Belmont, Belmont South, Croudace Bay, Floraville, Marks Point & Valentine.

2 Christmas Services at All Saints Belmont - celebrate the true meaning of Christmas - Sunday 14th December Christmas Carol Service 7pm in the Church Jesus Show us who you are! Christmas Eve Wednesday 24th December 6.30pm Christmas service for every age group with Holy Communion pm Midnight Mass Christmas Day 8am Holy Communion - Everyone is welcome - We support Nungalinya College, Darwin, Australia's only ecumenical theological training institute for indigenous people. Grahame and Anne Feletti BCA Nomads 133 earlier this year travelled to Kununurra to help Gary & Nikki Alexander with gardening as well as hands-on help with food and drink service at their Saturday markets, the local rodeo and the annual Ord River Festival night. Anne is in the centre of the picture serving real coffee in the church s own café caravan From the songs of ancient Israel, we learn that God is not only awesome, but also active; not neutral, but involved; not a detached creator, but God among us, longing to see justice done This past year with ABM we have supported those in drought in Kenya & a Health Clinic in Zambia. and the humble lifted high. 15

3 Teaching SRE [Scripture] in our local Schools. BELGRANDIES our Grandparents as Parents support Group Matthew Wilesmith is welcomed and commissioned as the SRE teacher for Belmont High School by local church leaders. 14 Is it better to give than receive? Surprise! Surprise! We're often told money can't buy us happiness. But now scientists beg to differ. They say it can make us happy as long as we spend it on someone else. Scientific research has concluded that giving to charity, or buying presents for friends and family, is the secret to contentment. In tests, those who gave money away were far happier than others who spent the same cash on holidays, cars and luxuries for themselves. Regardless of income level, those people who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not. Giving away as little as a couple of dollars every day is enough to significantly boost happiness levels. Christians have known this since forever, haven t we? We read in Proverbs 11:24-25 The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. [The Message ] One thing we know for sure at All Saints is that God is a generous God who gives much to each of us, day after day. He gives us the very breath that we breathe and life itself. He provides for our daily basic needs food, clothing and shelter. He is faithful in his love, mercy, and compassion towards us. He gave us his very best His Son. Not only is God a generous God in the very fabric of his nature; he also loves it when we are generous too. When we give we are just like him. Through generous giving we prove that God is first in our life and we honour him (see Deut.14:23. Prov.3:9). Paul tells us that God loves a cheerful (or joyful) giver (2 Cor.9:7). We know God is also blessed when we give because our generous giving helps his work on earth to grow. God is honoured and his kingdom grows. The gospel is free but it costs money to spread the good news and to do ministry. God s work on the earth is great and it requires resources (people, time and finance). Our generous giving provides for the body of Christ and the extension of God s kingdom. May you be blessed in your giving this Christmas, may others be blessed by your giving and may God s kingdom grow through your generosity. Merry Christmas from Canon Janet. 3

4 THE SPIRIT OF GIVING EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR AFTER A true story. Two weeks before Christmas a nine year old girl was walking with her friend, down the street, sliding on the ice. The THE CHRISTMAS GOODIES! two of them were talking about what they hoped to get for Christmas. They stopped to talk to an old man named Harry, who was on his knees pulling weeds from around a large oak tree. He wore a frayed woollen jacket and a pair of worn garden gloves. His fingers were sticking out the ends, blue with cold. As Harry responded to the girls, he told them he was getting the yard in shape as a Christmas present for his mother, who passed away several years before. His eyes brimmed with tears as he patted the old oak. My mother was all I had. She loved the yard and her trees, so I do this for her at Christmas. His words touched the girls and soon they were down on their knees helping him to weed around the tree. It took the three of them the rest of the day to complete the task. When they had finished, Harry pressed a dollar into their hands, I wish I could pay you more but this is all I have right now, he said. The girls had often passed that way before, and as they walked on they remembered that the house was shabby, with no wreath, no Christmas tree or other decorations to add cheeriness. Just the lonely figure of Harry, sitting by his curtainless window. The dollar seemed to burn a hole of guilt in the one little girl s mind as they returned to their homes. The next day she called her friend and they agreed to put their dollars in a jar marked Harry s Christmas Present and they began to seek out small jobs to earn more. Every cent and dollar they earned went into the jar. Two days before Christmas they had enough to buy new gloves and a Christmas card. Christmas Eve found them on Harry s doorstep singing carols. When he opened the door they presented him with the gloves wrapped in pretty paper, the card and a pumpkin pie still warm from the oven. With trembling hands, he tore the paper from the gloves, and then to their astonishment, he held them to his face and wept. 4 13

5 GUESS WHO! Someone, who became familiar and a very good friend to many of us, has contributed a joke for this issue of our magazine. He is very shy and unfortunately does not wish to have a by-line attached to his valued correspondence. Maybe some of our readers will recognise him from the appended graphic. There was a little old lady who stepped onto her front porch every morning, raised her arms to the sky and shouted; Praise the Lord! One day an atheist moved into the house next door. He became irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he d step onto his front porch after her and yell; There is no Lord! Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day. One morning, in the middle of winter, the old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted; Praise the Lord! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me O Lord! The next day she stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. She cried out; Praise the Lord, He has provided groceries for me! The atheist neighbour jumped out of the hedges and shouted; There is no Lord. I bought those groceries! The little old lady threw her arms in the air and shouted Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and made the devil pay for them! Our mystery contributor and his wife Judy send their Best Wishes for a Happy and Holy Christmas to their many Belmont friends. If you want to help financially the work of All Saints Belmont you can give electronically at any time Westpac Bank, Belmont :BSB , Account , Anglican Parish of Belmont General A/C 12 Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the hearts of humans. Religious Telescope The earth has grown old with its burden of care, but at Christmas it is always young Anon God is not dead, nor doth he sleep! The wrong shall fail; the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to all Henry W. Longfellow The Christmas bells some like best are the ones on the cash register Anon May Christmas time mean more to you Than gifts on Christmas morn; May you feel the peace the whole world knew When Christ the Lord was born! May you know the special gladness And hope that came to men; And may it thrill your heart just now As Christmas comes again. -unknown 5

6 I LIKE CHRISTMAS! I like Christmas! Christmas is something new that comes to an old world each year. It is like new-fallen snow upon an old tree; a new flower on an old plant; new shoes on aging feet; a new home in an old town; a new light on a dark street; new hope in a hopeless situation. I like Christmas! It was introduced by a prophesy, heralded by the song of an angel and announced by the birth of a Saviour. I like Christmas because it sparkles and glows. It comes only once a year, and still its radiance warms the child s heart and fills the mind with pleasant dreams of joy and happiness. I like Christmas because Christmas is Christ. In Christ I see the beauty of the gospel which began in Bethlehem of Judea when His Spirit glorified that little town and His coming sanctified a lowly manger. I like Christmas because it bears Christ s name, symbolises His Love, proclaims His Truth and showers His gifts upon this world. Although earthly kings ignored him and the proud could not understand Him, the common people heard Him with hungry hearts and gladly received him. I like Christmas because it meets my deepest needs! It cures me of greed and selfishness, fills my empty soul with peace and compassion and renews my Faith and hope in an erring world. These are some of the reasons why: I LIKE CHRISTMAS! 6 ALL SAINTS PARISH MISSION STATEMENT All Saints Parish exists to build a loving Christian community which can: Communicate the good news of Jesus Serve the local community Care for the community of faith. 11

7 Our models getting ready for our August Fashion Parade. Remembering loved ones on All Souls November 1st Jill Hall MP joins the Men s Group for breakfast in November. 10 The Parish hosted Prime Bishop Edward Malecdan and wife Myrnam from the Philippines in October. grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV) 11 7

8 NEWS FROM THE PEWS As 2014 draws to a close we look forward to sharing the very special Church season of Advent and Christmas with you. Food, Fellowship & Fun In the past year we have had several opportunities to enjoy each others company. There was the Pet Blessing with Sing Australia providing a lovely accompaniment to this special service of thanksgiving to God s for the gift of pets. Afternoon tea was enjoyed afterwards by both humans and animals. The Merry Mellows, the amateur theatrical group that our own Joy Tromans is a member of, treated us to a night of great entertainment. The delicious homemade soup, bread and dessert also seemed to go down well. Several parishioners attended the Ecumenical fund raising dinner for the Belmont High School SRE Teacher & Chaplain, that was hosted by the Belmont Baptist Church. Rev d Janet with some parishioners attended the Red Cross 100th year anniversary at the Belmont 16 s. November saw our Patronal Festival of All Saints celebrated with a combined service and celebration luncheon on the 2nd; followed by the Melbourne Cup Luncheon o the 4th. More fellowship in groups. Our parish groups continue to provide much nurture and enjoyment for their members. The Men s Group, wives and friends enjoyed a two day trip to Dungog visiting some historic churches on the way and catching up with Colvin and Judy Ford whilst there. A very successful Men s breakfast with Jill Hall MP as the special guest speaker was held in November. Their year will conclude with a Christmas Dinner at the Sporties Club on December 2nd. Evening Mother s Union (MU) had an interesting and varied program this year, including a visit to Kotara South group in a torrential thunder storm. The group will conclude their year with a visit to Nev & Del s to view a Christmas film and enjoy Del s Christmas decorations. Both these groups have informal get togethers in January (see back cover for contact details.). The Day MU & Friendship Fellowship will hold their annual Christmas luncheon after the am Eucharist on Wednesday 10th Dec (Santa might also attend) - everyone welcome (rsvp by 8th Dec). Bible Study and Meditation groups have given spiritual nourishment in a friendly atmosphere to members during the year. NEWS FROM THE PEWS The Hand of Friendship Again our very faithful team of Pastoral Carers has provided care to folk in hospital and the local aged care hostels and units. Regular services are held at Narla, Nazareth, St. Francis and Lake Macquarie Villages and Belmont Hospital. Belgrandies the Grandparents as Parents support group has continued and grown. Bereavement Support is also available when needed. Home Communion is available for the housebound or those too ill to come to church. Contact Ron Owen ( ) or Rev d Janet ( ) if you know of anyone needing these services. Care for children The dedicated SRE teachers are looking forward to a well earned break before they gear up for If you feel called to this ministry talk to Rev d Janet or Deidre Hughes. Numbers have declined in Sunday School this year but caring teachers are there each week to tell the children a bible story followed by craft for children who come. The Teddy Bears Picnic in October was a fun time of food, stories craft and games for all who attended even the big people. This year we commenced Messy Saints - church for children and their families. Messy Saints is church where it doesn t matter if there is noise or mess. In 2015 Messy Saints will happen of the 2nd Sat of month (in school term) starting at 5 pm in the Hall with a meal (no charge) followed by songs, craft, story and then Communion in Church. Monthly Markets A big thank you to all who helped with our markets this year. There was a special Christmas stall in November with a free morning tea for all patrons. There will be no Markets in December; the next market will be 17th January 8am to Noon. Help is always welcome with the set-up for the Markets on Friday mornings from 11 am and on Saturday for the pack-up at Noon. Donations of good quality clean goods are welcome no furniture, electric or electronic items please. The Markets Clothing Stall provided items for two successful Fashion Parades during 2014 (Fashion Parade dates for th March & 5th Sept.). Monies raised provide for the Churches outreach activities in the local community. An amount each month is donated to a local need such as the P.C.Y.C., Disabled Sailors, Breakfast Club 8 at schools and Belmont Hospital Emergency. 9