St Thomas BURWOOD December December news. The wise still seek Him

Transcription

1 December news The wise still seek Him 1

2 Contents Acknowledgment of Country 3 Reconciliation Prayer 3 Sermon Series, Preaching Roster and Readings 4 Sermon Series: Advent 4 Preaching Roster & Readings 4 From John - Lead Minister 5 Big Shoes to Fill 5 A Letter from the Clementines 6 Our Church Community 7 Who We Are 7 Pastoral Care 8 Pastoral Care Guidelines for English Congregation 8 St Tom s Website 10 Giving 10 Coming St Tom s 11 Christmas Services 11 Carols in the Courtyard 12 Community News 13 Confirmation Service in St Toms 13 Working Bee 14 Tear Useful Gifts 15 Essentials Magazine 15 Advent Events 16 Summer Holidays - Programs Taking a Break 16 St Tom s English Club 17 Our Services 18 Weekly Prayer Meeting 18 Mid Week Communion 18 Staff 19 Wardens 19 2

3 Acknowledgment of Country In the spirit of reconciliation, St Thomas Burwood acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations as the original custodians of the land now known as City of Whitehorse. We pay our respects to the Indigenous Elders past and present. Reconciliation Prayer Lord God, bring us together as one, reconciled with you and reconciled with each other. You made us in your likeness, you gave us your Son, Jesus Christ. He has given us forgiveness from sin. Lord God, bring us together as one, different in culture, but given new life in Jesus Christ, together as your body, your Church, your people. Lord God, bring us together as one, reconciled, healed, forgiven, sharing you with others as you have called us to do. In Jesus Christ, let us be together as one. Amen Reconciliation Prayer from A Prayer Book for Australia Background photograph of sewn possum skin of Wurundgeri origin-by Lentisco 3

4 Sermon Series, Preaching Roster and Readings SERMON SERIES: ADVENT During December we are in the period known as Advent. We celebrate the coming of Christ into the world and we look forward to his coming again when all shall be made new and our tears will be wiped away forever! O come, Thou Day-Spring Come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight PREACHING ROSTER & READINGS Series Date 1st Bible Reading 2nd Bible Reading Psalm (for 8:30) Preacher 8:30 / 10:30 Preacher Ch 10:30 / 2pm St Thomas Day Advent 3 Dec Ezekiel 34:1-16 Col 1:15-17 Ps 23 John Carrick Yarra Gospel Choir 10 Dec Isaiah 40:1-11 Mk 1:1-8 Ps 85:1-2, 8-13 John Carrick Kian Gee Lim 17 Dec Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Ps 126 Ruth Newmarch Kian Gee Lim Carols in the Courtyard 17 Dec 8:30 English Service 24 Dec 10:30 Cantonese 24 Dec Kids Xmas Eve 24 Dec Xmas Eve Holy Communion 24 Dec 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Lk 1:26-38 Ps 89:1-4, John Carrick 11pm Xmas Morning 25 Dec Is 9:2-7 Lk 2: John Carrick Kian Gee Lim NYE 31 Dec Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Lk 2:22-40 Ps 148 Will Smith Joey 4

5 From John - Lead Minister BIG SHOES TO FILL As we come to the end of 2017 a number of pastoral care roles have either finished or are coming to an end. I speak of course of Annette Ward, Jan Shattock and Ida Mak. They have all significantly contributed Christ's care to St Tom's. How are we going to fill those shoes?! We have implemented a number of initiatives gradually this year which will help spread the load of providing pastoral care one-to-another. 1. Follow up. Each month a report is produced that helps alert us to check in on parishioners and organise a follow-up. 2. Pastoral Care Guidelines for English Congregations This document was produced earlier this year - in fact, work started on this in The Guideline can be accessed on our Policies page on elvanto. An abstract will be included in this Newsletter. The guideline is aimed at establishing a system for providing care and also for spreading the load of care around. We are all obligated to care for one another. Currently, this document applies to our English speaking congregations. We hope to draft a similar guideline for our Chinese speaking congregations. 3. Pastoral Visitation Day We have allocated a day per month where pastoral staff go and meet with parishioners. In order to free up time for this, we have cancelled our regular weekly meeting on a particular day each month. Ruth wisely noted that this initiative helps us as a pastoral team to be proactive rather than only reactive to pastoral issues. In 2018, we will be looking at implement these guidelines more widely and developing them. Please pray that St Tom's continues to grow in our capacity to show genuine care for one-another. Philippians 1:3 John 5

6 A Letter from the Clementines Dear John and St Toms, We, the Clementine clan have settled in well in Lakes Entrance and have found a very welcoming and nurturing community within the Lakes Entrance Baptist church community as well as the Bairnsdale Baptist Community. Leia is working most days in Orbost Hospital and re-connecting with old friendships. I have been working as a subcontractor labour hire for a building company and also as a plumber for a friend when he needs help. The boys have settled in well in our new environment, Samson loves venturing out on our bike rides (father & son), Emmett loves his play school days. Arthur is growing rapidly as you can imagine. I enjoy the special times I get to be a stay at home dad with my boys and cherish this time in their lives. It is a challenge as they have so much energy and whilst they love playing together each has their own very distinct interests. As I am writing this Arthur is asleep and his older brothers are playing lego together in our cute (realestate lingo for small) living space. One of the young mums from church brought around some home baked cookies this morning to help out and I feel we have landed so perfectly where God has planted us, and I am praying prayers of great thanks for his direction given nothing of this was of our initiative. 6

7 Our Church Community WHO WE ARE We're a vibrant and diverse community that shares in each others lives. We're a community of faith, unified in the hope we have found in Jesus and we welcome anyone, regardless of whether they share our faith or not, into our community life. We believe that our greatest joys and our deepest hopes are realised through faith in one unique person - Jesus Christ. Many of us have found that, in coming to faith in him, our lives have been transformed. We have experienced a spiritual 'rags to riches' transformation. Nonetheless, the experience is not a one-off event, it is ongoing. Our life together is a commitment to the ongoing reality of our discipleship to Jesus. We recognise we have been united by our faith in Christ and need each other. Through every challenge we face in life we find that it is necessary to continue to deepen our faith in Jesus. In doing so we discover a hope that transcends what would have overcome us. It is this hope we delight to share. The story of St Thomas' is about the coming together of a number of communities. In a nutshell, our heritage goes back to two different churches: St Theodore's Wattle Park and St Michael's Bennettswood. St Theodore's was a growing community and needed more space in order to accommodate its growth and expand on its vision. St Michael's had two communities: an English speaking congregation, made up of long time residents of the area, and a Cantonese speaking congregation who had originally come from a church that gathered in Chinatown. In 2007, St Michael's and St Theodore's decided to merge and become one parish with a new name: St Thomas' Burwood. 7

8 Pastoral Care PASTORAL CARE GUIDELINES FOR ENGLISH CONGREGATION The following is an abstract for St Thomas Pastoral Care Guideline. The Document can be found on our Policies page in elvanto. St Thomas is seeking to be a Church that is growing in love displayed in acts of care and compassion; and to be a people that show gratitude for receiving such care. As Christians we seek to display God s love to all people. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbour as yourself. In particular we are indebted to show love to one-another within the church. Gal.5:14 NIV Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Gal.6:10 NIV Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. Rom. 13:8 NIV This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:10-11 NIV Introduction People who are members or acquaintances of St Thomas periodically face circumstances under which they will benefit physically and/or emotionally from pastoral care support. There s a range of pastoral care services that St Thomas can provide. The type and level of pastoral care service provided, and who provides it, can vary significantly, depending on the particular circumstance. This document outlines the guidelines that St Thomas has adopted - as a reference for both providers and recipients of pastoral care. For recipients it outlines the type and extent of care that members and acquaintances may expect to receive under specific personal circumstances, and for providers it gives guidance to the services that should typically be given to promote equality of response to different people. This allows fairness in response to various cases and aims to ensure that the limited resources of St Thomas are not unduly exhausted. Given our current size and resources, we believe this framework to be achievable; not overburdening those providing Pastoral Care and helping our members. We ask recipients to: 1. understand what care is available, 2. have realistic expectations in regard to the care that can be provided. Care in addition to that stated within this framework may be given, depending upon the resources available at the time. 8

9 Providers of Pastoral Care Services The Home Group (Small Group) is ideally the primary provider of pastoral care services to people who attend the group or are well known to group members. The primary provider to others will be a member of St Thomas working in conjunction with a Pastoral Care staff member (Overseer). For a person in need of pastoral care the initial point of contact at St Thomas is: 1. For a person associated with a home group - the Home Group leader 2. For a person who is not associated with any home group a Pastoral Care Overseer. The 'how' and 'when' respective Pastoral Care services are provided will be subject to agreement between the responsible parties: chiefly the Pastoral Care Overseers, Pastoral Care lay team (Function Leaders and Doers) and home group leaders. The 'how' and 'when' are subject to ongoing review in consideration of members needs and available resources. Pastoral Care Operations The operation of Pastoral Care activities at St Thomas generally flows through three distinct phases, as depicted in the following diagram. 1 Triage (i) Pastoral Care Overseers John Carrick Annette Ward Jan Shattock Will Smith Ruth Newmarch Trami Truong (ii) Small Group Leaders Andy Mulherin & Hannah & Will Smith Brenton & Amanda Ward Fiona Dowling John Altmann Joe Pang & Ivy Fung Lawrence Gebert 2 Function Leaders (Team Leaders) Prayer Annette Ward Small Groups John Altmann Meals Lyndie Gebert Parents with Young Children - Maddie Newmarch Young Adult Integration Hannah Smith Handyman Services Neale Rees Transport Annette Ward / Jan Shattock Visiting no specific leader 3 Doers (Teams) Generally, members of St Thomas 9

10 The Pastoral Care Overseers in the Triage phase are essentially the staff of St Thomas. The Function Leaders are the team leaders, or coordinators, for respective pastoral care services. The Doers are members of St Thomas who have agreed to participate on a roster basis to provide the pastoral care service when required. The teams of Doers are setup by the respective Function Leaders who then monitor the welfare and activities of the Doers. For more information see the Guideline on elvanto or ask a staff member for a print out. St Tom s Website Our website has had a make over! Sermons are now uploaded to our website. Check it out at Giving If you are a visitor today, our service is a gift to you. For those who are regular members we encourage giving electronically: Name BSB Account No. Monthly Requied General Account Building Fund St Thomas Burwood St. Thomas ADF Building Fund $ 31, $ 6,145 10

11 Coming St Tom s CHRISTMAS SERVICES 17 Dec, 5:30 pm Carols in the Courtyard: A Messy Church Event 24 Dec, 10:30am Cantonese Christmas Eve / 24 Dec, 6pm Kid s Christmas Eve: The story of Jesus birth, told afresh with carols 24 Dec, 11pm Holy Communion Service 25 Dec, 9am Combined English Service 25 Dec, 10:30am Combined Chinese Service / (Please note: there is NO 10:30 English Service on Sunday 24th December. 8:30 English and 10:30 Cantonese Services will run as usual.) 11

12 CAROLS IN THE COURTYARD The St. Tom's annual Carols in the Courtyard will be held on Sunday 17th December. This event is a highlight on the St. Tom's Christmas calendar. Children's activities commence at 5:30PM and Carols start at 6:30PM. BYO Picnic. Feel free to invite friends and family for an early Christmas catch-up! 5:30pm Sunday 17 St Thomas For more info contact Brenton: brentonw@sttoms.org 12

13 Community News Congratulations to Tzeh Yi (Joey) on completing his Bachelor of Ministry! CONFIRMATION SERVICE IN 2018 Archbishop Philip will be visiting St Tom s on May 27th If there are any young people interested in publicly affirming their faith through confirmation, please speak with Ruth Newmarch or ruth@sttoms.org ST TOMS We are looking for new musicians and singers from the 10:30 English Service, as well as expressions of interest to be involved with the sound desk and Propresenter. If you re interested, please contact Jamin Kenner for more information on: , or by jrkenner@gmail.com. ANGLICARE Anglicare is gearing up for Christmas 2017 and they need your help! If you d like to donate any toys or non-perishable Christmas food (no baked beans please!), please put them in the basket in the lounge. Thank you. 13

14 WORKING BEE Saturday February 3rd - 8:30am to 4pm All Hands on Deck! Working Bee to freshen up the Church. The tasks will include: steam cleaning all of the carpets kitchen tidy and clean toilet clean (walls, doors etc that the regular cleaner does not do) clean and tidy the cleaners cupboard windows cleaned both inside and out courtyard clean - remove cobwebs, clean bbq, etc clean children's tables and chairs garden tidy up clean and tidy the front of the church and anything else I can think of between now and then!! Please sign up for the steam cleaning of the carpets. There will be three cleaning machines available all day, so please select a time that suits you best. Sign up sheet via elvanto or at the Worship 1 welcome desk. 14

15 TEAR USEFUL GIFTS ESSENTIALS MAGAZINE The Summer Edition of Essentials Magazine is out now. Find your copy on the shelves in the front entrance. Read about General Synod, Baptism and the Lord's Supper from the Reformation to now, and a review of Kevin Giles' latest book! 15

16 ADVENT EVENTS Combined Church s Community Christmas Carols Service + Supper A great occasion, organised by local clergy with the Ashburton Choir leading the singing. All are invited to attend. 7pm, Sun 3rd Ashburton Uniting Church Follow The Star A beautiful display well worth the viewing. See church noticeboard for open times throughout December. 4th-23rd Burwood Uniting Church Advent Ecumenical Studies 6:30pm for Soup and Fellowship, 7pm for study (runs for 3 weeks) From 5th Hartwell Church of Christ SUMMER HOLIDAYS - PROGRAMS TAKING A BREAK Mid-Week Communion will re-commence in February No Eucalypts in December or January No Mike s Mates over the holiday period ESL classes return on the 10th February 16

17 ST TOM S ENGLISH CLUB 17

18 Our Services Traditional Holy Communion Service Prayer Book Liturgy (APBA) and Hymns Contemporary Worship Service and Kids Club Cantonese Worship Service and Kids Club Mandarin Worship Service WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING 1pm Mondays in Meeting Room 1, all welcome. MID WEEK COMMUNION Mid-Week Holy Communion Service 1st Wednesday of the 11am, St Thomas 18

19 Staff John Carrick Lead Minister Ruth Newmarch Associate Minister / Generations Pastor ruth@sttoms.org Kian Gee Lim Chinese Minster kglim@sttoms.org Will Smith Youth Minister wills@sttoms.org Trami Truong St Tom s Hope Community Outreach tramit@sttoms.org hope@sttoms.org Ellen Kenner Administration admin@sttoms.org Tzeh Yi (Joey) Chan Administration joeyc@sttoms.org Jan Shattock Pastoral Care jans@sttoms.org Wardens Ruth Kernebone ruthk@oz .com.au Sue Wheeler renowndesign@iprimus.com.au Joe Pang pangpang818@hotmail.com