Communiqué. The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory Fellowship Corps. Chappy

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1 Communiqué The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory Fellowship Corps September/October 2010 Chappy

Fellowship Corps Secretary Territorial Corps Programme Department The Salvation Army PO Box 479 Blackburn VIC 3130 Phone: (03) 8878 4745 donna.bryan@aus.salvationarmy.

2 Fellowship Corps Secretary Territorial Corps Programme Department The Salvation Army PO Box 479 Blackburn VIC 3130 Phone: (03) Dear Friends, Christian greetings from the Fellowship Corps. Traditionally, on the Christian Church calendar, the period of time between Pentecost and Advent is known as Ordinary Time. In recent years, some Christian communities have been using the months of September and October to celebrate a season or time of Creation, and the focus is on God the Creator. This is very appropriate in the southern hemisphere as we travel through the season of spring. I know of other Christian communities that use this time to focus on Christian unity and the leading of the Holy Spirit to encourage the followers of Jesus Christ to be true and faithful disciples. It is an opportunity for them to explore how we are called to live out the Gospel in our daily lives. The Christian community of Australian Church Women celebrates World Community Day in October and services are held right around Australia in local churches of the mainline denominations. This year the service was prepared by the Australian Capital Territory Unit and a Salvationist, Major Leonie Ainsworth, from the Australia Eastern Territory, was a member of the preparation team. The theme of the service is Out of Darkness into Light. I would encourage you to attend the World Community Day Service if there is one held near where you live. In this issue of Communiqué we are reflecting upon the truth that as new creations in Christ we are called to walk in the light of God. Bless you each, Donna Bryan (Captain), Fellowship Corps Secretary 2 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

3 Survey Results My sincere thanks to all members who completed the recent survey. I did not receive a huge formal response to our survey, and a number of you chose to just speak or write to me about your preferences. Combined with previous correspondence and feedback over the last two years, I am able to draw some conclusions about the content that you like to see and like to reflect on in the Communiqué, as well as material that you would like included in future issues. One surprising outcome of the feedback is that, like me, most of you enjoy history and would like to see more content on the history of both the church and The Salvation Army. The majority of respondents would also like to see testimonies and for this to work I need readers to send in their testimony, and to state that they give their permission to have it printed in the Communiqué. You can also elect to remain anonymous. A recurring comment on both the survey and other feedback is that many members appreciate being able to read and reflect on the old songs and hymns. Songs that have been a part of their own Christian journey. You might like to share with others your favouite hymn and why it is special for you. On the whole, it seems that most folk are happy with the components and the balance of the worship presented in Communiqué, and some of your comments have given me ideas for further subject matter in the future. Thank you to those members who took the time to make comments on their survey form. For our History Enthusiasts The Melbourne Heritage Centre has moved! A few weeks ago at the beginning of July, the entire contents of The Salvation Army s Heritage Centre were moved from the rear of 69 Bourke St to a purpose-built museum that is located on the top of the same historical building at 69 Bourke St. As you can imagine this was a mammoth effort and the Territorial Archivist, Mr Lindsay Cox, reported in his Heritage Newsletter that eight removalists took five Many Thanks to those members who have generously sent in donations to cover printing and postage costs for the Fellowship Corps. Fellowship Corps Communiqué 3

solid days to successfully complete the removal Fitting out the Museum is expected to be complete by mid-august; then the creation and mounting of the various exhibitions and displays can commence.

Also, the old disused attic photo studio used by Captain Joseph Perry and his Limelight Brigade will be restored to become a Limelight Department Museum. It all sounds quite must-visit doesn t it?

html 2010 Commissioning News Special guests will be Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Barry Swanson, and Commissioner Sue Swanson, World Secretary for Women s Ministries. Saturday 4th December 3.00 9.

4 solid days to successfully complete the removal Fitting out the Museum is expected to be complete by mid-august; then the creation and mounting of the various exhibitions and displays can commence. It s all a long and detailed process, but the result will be a unique show-casing of The Salvation Army. Also, the old disused attic photo studio used by Captain Joseph Perry and his Limelight Brigade will be restored to become a Limelight Department Museum. It all sounds quite must-visit doesn t it? Internet reference: history-and-heritage/australias-first-film-studio.html 2010 Commissioning News Special guests will be Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Barry Swanson, and Commissioner Sue Swanson, World Secretary for Women s Ministries. Saturday 4th December pm Salvo Connecting Others Expo pm Salvo Community Spit Roast & BBQ pm Salvo Christmas Spectacular Sunday 5th December am Commissioning & Ordination Service, Kids Church Noon 2.00pm Lunch and Salvo Connecting Others Expo pm Appointments Service, Kids Church Further information at: 4 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

Ca l l t o Wo r s h i p The Lord is my light and my salvation so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

5 Ca l l t o Wo r s h i p The Lord is my light and my salvation so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. The one thing I ask of the Lord the thing I seek most is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, Delighting in the Lord s perfections and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:1 4 (New Living Translation) Photo by Patrice Dufour Fellowship Corps Communiqué 5

6 Photo by Bryan Wintersteen 6 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

7 Song 616 My Maker and my King, To thee my all I owe; Thy constant goodness is the spring Whence all my blessings flow. The creature of thy hand, On thee alone I live; Thy countless benefits demand More praise than I can give. O let thy grace inspire My soul with strength divine! Let all my powers to thee aspire, And all my days be thine. Anne Steele ( ) Public Domain Photo by C Fellowship Corps Communiqué 7

Psalm 96 Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

8 Psalm 96 Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honour and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. O nations of the world, recognise the Lord; recognise that the Lord is glorious and strong. 8 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour. Let all the earth tremble before him.

9 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendour. Let all the earth tremble before him. Tell all the nations, The Lord reigns! The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly. Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord, for he is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth. (New Living Translation) Photo by guenter m. kirchweger Fellowship Corps Communiqué 9

10 H eroines of the Faith When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. Mark 16:9, 10 (New International Version) 10 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

11 M ary Magdalene Photo by Kevin Cole Fellowship Corps Communiqué 11

Song 215 I ve felt a new and loving touch Upon my heart and soul; I ve felt God s love and wondrous power Descend and make me whole. Chorus A miracle! Yes, a miracle!

I now have seen his greatness, I now can comprehend The wonders of his matchless love, A love that will not end.

12 Song 215 I ve felt a new and loving touch Upon my heart and soul; I ve felt God s love and wondrous power Descend and make me whole. Chorus A miracle! Yes, a miracle! God s Holy Spirit came And we are not the same, For he touched us And filled us with his love. I now have seen his greatness, I now can comprehend The wonders of his matchless love, A love that will not end. I can t express by words alone What he now means to me; But O I want to shout to all That Christ gives victory! Iva Lou Samples The Salvation Army Pr a y e r Loving Creator, I lift my hand in praise to You for You are my deliverer and You set me free from all that oppresses me. Your guiding hand leads me away from the darkness of this world and into the light of Your Word. A Word that is Holy and true and lights my way. Thank You Lord for the great love You have for me and all of Creation. Amen 12 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

13 Photo by Marco Michelini Fellowship Corps Communiqué 13

14 Romans 12:1 2 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Ephesians 5:8 20 Living in the Light For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light. Living by the Spirit s Power So be careful how you live. Don t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sky photo by The Wandering Angel com/imageid= Fellowship Corps Communiqué

1 John 1:1 7 Introduction We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands.

He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us.

15 1 John 1:1 7 Introduction We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. Living in the Light This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. (New Living Translation) Fellowship Corps Communiqué 15

16 Armstrong and Edward Watkin tell the story of a biologist s experiment with Richard processional caterpillars. On the rim of a clay pot that held a plant, he lined up the caterpillars so that the leader was head-to-tail with the last caterpillar. The tiny creatures circled the rim of the pot for a full week. Not once did any one of them break away to go over to the plant and eat. Eventually, all caterpillars died from exhaustion and starvation. The story of the processional caterpillars is a kind of parable of human behaviour. People are reluctant to break away from the rhythmic pattern of daily life. They don t want to be different. We must break away from the crowd, however, if we are to accept Jesus invitation to* : follow Him and be His disciple. In Romans 12:2, Paul was writing to the believers in Rome and he urged them: Don t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. This instruction to the Roman Christians was not about some bizarre brainwashing scheme that was employed by the early church on its converts. Rather it s about how we build relationship with God by studying His Word and living it out in our own lives, and that there are spiritual benefits in doing this. God s Word really does have the power to transform the way that we live and to set us free from mindlessly following the crowd. The more we study God s Word, the more we get to know Him, and we discover that His Word is alive and applicable to life s situations. This discovery gives us a road map to walk in His light and keep out of the darkness of an immoral world. 16 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

17 When this transformation is taking place in our hearts and our minds it s like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar as it turns into a beautiful butterfly. We begin to change and the closer we walk in the light of God s Word, the more evident those changes should become. And these changes should be as obvious as the two flies who landed on a bald man s head. One fly said to the other, There has been some mighty big changes made around here. The last time we visited this place, there was just a narrow footpath. Now there s a huge landing strip! As we create a landing strip of change in our own lives we find that we are no longer confined to the restricting cocoon of worldly values. Instead, we experience the life-giving freedom that is found in stepping out of the darkness and following the light of Jesus. However, our freedom and transformation can be a costly process and cause us pain and suffering. When we turn away from worldly values and pursuits, our commitment to Jesus can be severely tested by the mocking crowd looking for an opportunity to wound us for being different. There will be times when we falter and some will accuse us of being hypocrites, but just like falling off a bike, we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back into walking in the light of God. We do this by drawing on the strength and power of God s Word which will keep us faithful and true in striving to be more like Jesus. Jesus alone is our guiding light through this dark world. Unlike the processional crowd, Jesus will not lead us on a meaningless journey that exhausts and kills us. Instead He will sustain us and give us a purpose in life and a mission to pursue. Let me encourage you to continue developing your relationship with Jesus so that you can know Him better, and also know the life-giving changes that can take place in your life when you are not a processional caterpillar. *Source: James S Hewett, ed ILLUSTRATIONS UNLIMITED Drawing: Sketches# Fellowship Corps Communiqué 17

he light of God is falling, Upon life s common way; The Master s voice is

Thee, And all of life grows holy, O Christ of Galilee!

heaping measures, And lifts his brother s load, Who turns the wrong down bluntly,

18 he light of God is falling, Upon life s common way; The Master s voice is calling, Come, walk with Me today ; No duty can seem lowly To him who lives with Thee, And all of life grows holy, O Christ of Galilee! Who shares his life s pure pleasures, And walks the honest road, Who trades with heaping measures, And lifts his brother s load, Who turns the wrong down bluntly, And lends the right a hand, He dwells in God s own country, He tills the Holy Land. 18 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

Where human lives are thronging In toil and pain and sin, While cloistered hearts are longing To

19 Where human lives are thronging In toil and pain and sin, While cloistered hearts are longing To bring the kingdom in, O Christ, the elder Brother Of proud and beaten men, When they have found each other, The kingdom will come then! Thy ransomed host in glory, All souls that sin and pray, Turn toward the cross that bore Thee; Behold the Man! they say; And while Thy church is pleading For all who would do good, We hear Thy true voice leading Our song of brotherhood. Words: Lou is F. Ben son, Music: Lau fer, Em i ly S. Per kins, Public Domain Fellowship Corps Communiqué 19

20 He Brought me out of darkness into light, Out of darkness into light; He brought me out of darkness into light, The wondrous light of God. Chorus 160 The Salvation Army Every effort has been made to acknowledge original sources and copyright owners. If there has been any infringement, the publisher of this Communiqué will endeavour to rectify and acknowledge ownership in future issues. 20 Fellowship Corps Communiqué

Communiqué. The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory Fellowship Corps.

Communiqué. The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory Fellowship Corps. Communiqué The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory Fellowship Corps http://www.sarmy.org.au/en/ministry/fellowship-online/ March/April 2013 Fellowship Corps Secretary Mission Resources Department