Published:December 23, 2011.

From the Vicar 2011 Archive

December 25th

Welcome to everyone worshipping with us this Christmas. If you are visiting you are especially welcome – there’s a grand tradition at Christmas-time of welcoming those who are travelling!

Thank you to everyone at St Matt’s for this year a wonderful one of recovery and hope for the future. There are so many ways God is blessing us and the communities we serve and much of it is made possible by the way you each put yourself in situations where relationships can be formed which might lead to faith. I pray that we each might have further conversations which bring life, light and hope to those we are actively caring for.

I believe that Jesus meets “the hopes and fears of all the years” (as the carol has it) and it seems that the archbishop of Melbourne agrees with me (!) so I have included his media release for all of us to say “Amen!” to.

God bless,      Ian.

 

Christmas an answer to our deepest yearnings

The Occupy Movement, which began in Wall St, and spread to other parts of the world, including Australia, has essentially been a protest against what was once described as “the unacceptable face of capitalism.” This is when wealth creation becomes divorced from social and moral responsibility.

But I believe that at its heart, the Occupy Movement has been an expression of something basic to our humanity. This is the sense of powerlessness, frustration and alienation that many increasingly feel in the face of market forces which can seem impersonal, uncaring and immoral.

What does this have to do with Christmas? Jesus Christ was born into a time when many were poor and powerless. First Century Palestine was controlled by the ruthless and often brutal Roman Empire, and life for the great majority was subject to harsh, cruel and impersonal forces.

Into this unpromising situation the God who is love gave his only Son, Jesus. Born into an extremely poor and vulnerable peasant family, Jesus’ birth was a powerful act of solidarity with the poor and vulnerable of all times and places.

In the timeless words of John’s Gospel, “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… full of grace and truth.”

Two millennia ago Jesus began a movement which is about love: love of God and love of neighbour. This love is always profoundly personal, self-giving and centred on the care and well-being of others.

God loves each one of us, and each one of us matters personally to God.

Christmas is a joyful celebration of the fact that we are all, whether we are rich or poor, invited to take our place in God’s commonwealth of love.

This Christmas I invite you to open your hearts to the love of Christ, to the “light that shines in the darkness”; and in that light let us all commit ourselves to being more loving towards our neighbours, far and near.

Christmas Message from The Rt Rev Dr Philip Freier,

Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne

 

December 18th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Carol Service for 2011. We trust you enjoy “clearing out your lungs” as we sing some old favourites together as well as find God amidst His people as we gather to worship. If you are visiting with us you are especially welcome and do stay for a sausage after the service where we will all be wishing each other well and catching up on the weekly news.

I imagine, like me, that your preparations for the Christmas period are well underway and there is a growing sense of anticipation for next weekend’s various events. It is such a special time in our culture – even if the true meaning seems somewhat obscured by commercialism at times.

Can we reclaim Christmas as it was intended to be by the early Christians? Can we find Christ amongst the Christmas wrappers and tinsel? Here’s some suggestions:

• Find ways to give thanks to God for all His blessings: maybe by saying “grace” before the family meal – but keep it simple and not too sermonic!

• Honour God by the amount you eat: remember those around the world who have very little and maybe set aside a special offering for TEAR or Mission India.

• Pay attention to who’s enjoying themselves and who’s maybe missing out; spend time alongside – like Jesus would.

• Be proactive in generating community with those in and outside the faith.

• Work on a little answer to give anyone who asks about your faith. Find a way to promote Jesus for who he is and why you follow Him rather than bemoan how bad society is.

• Promise to meet someone again soon after Christmas – and fulfil your promise!

 

I believe we can change the world – one person at a time and one community at a time. But like Andrew, Philip and Paul let’s make sure we introduce people to Jesus for He is the one who actually makes the transformation. Pray about who you might introduce to Jesus this Christmas . . .

God bless,    Ian.

December 11th

Welcome to St Matthew’s church. We are glad you are here with us and we trust you will encounter God in a meaningful way amongst His people.

As I write this we have just had another successful CRE Christmas Service (Tuesday just gone) here at church after which a number of teachers complimented us on the quality of the service. I can only echo these sentiments and express my heartfelt thanks to the CRE teachers who contributed to the planning and also once again to the young musicians who played. It is just as much a delight to the school community to see young people actively involved in our faith as it is to our own community. And it is a brilliant achievement to have given the whole school another good experience of church.

What a picture they must have of us: engaging worship; active involvement in their community; devoted teaching and mentoring to needy children, and ongoing interesting the well-being of the students and wider school. Well done everyone! We were formally thanked by the Principal, Terry Scott at their Annual Morning Tea for Volunteers at which Terry also assured me of the success of the Kid’s Hope Mentoring program which we have been piloting this year. There has been marked improvement in each of the Kid’s behaviour and other results. He is looking forward to having additional mentors next year.

So much of what we do is long-term. We need to keep looking forward to the way we hope things will eventually be whilst at the same time attending to things as they are now, putting our best foot forward as much as we can. Owen was just saying to me the other day, (after we had taken muffins for all the Geelong High School staff) how his old church (and mine) had a great relationship with the local High School. I happily remembered that it was me and the youth worker, 12 years ago who had nervously gone to visit the Principal to ask how we could be a blessing to them – was there anything we could help with? At the time I remember feeling great trepidation: would we be rejected, how would it work out, would there be any fruit for the Kingdom, etc? Our “building” program continues – please keep praying for all our various missional activities: that we will be patient, determined and that we will in due course see much good fruit for the Kingdom.

Again as I write this, I am preparing to visit Andy, Liz, Olivia & Caitlin Goodacre for a couple of days, (Wednesday & Thursday just gone). It is a small way of our church supporting them as Bush Church Aid Missionaries (see the notice board) and particularly helps Andy as he implements a similar model of church where he is in North Launceston. They will be joining us for a special Mission Sunday service in March next year so you will all be able to catch up with them then.

This week we conclude our series on Covenant & Kingdom, and next week there’ll be carols and the Christmas season – bring your friends!

God bless,    Ian

November 27th

A Bit About Owen

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for the kindness and help they have shown me since I arrived, especially the Weaver family. I understand how hard it can be to put up with another person in the house and I deeply appreciate all you are doing for me. At church, this kindness is continued amongst its congregation. Having arrived as an outsider, I can look at the Church from an objective stance and see that it is such a close-knit, friendly community. I find myself feeling sincerely at home and comfortable on a Sunday morning, chatting to people who show genuine warmth and companionship amongst one another.

My aim this year is to help St Matthews Church sustain a strong discipleship with young people, creating relationships and a foundation for youth to take control of their own groups. The Junior youth group so far is more fun than I can remember having amongst Church youth, with the members hopefully having as much fun as me. There is an obvious movement of God within this group which I feel can only be built on. I hope to encourage some of the younger teenagers to step into the shoes of a leader, a disciple of God, able to raise younger children up with them. I feel this has already been achieved to some degree in their eyes with our attempt at the longest banana split.

For those who wish to know a little about me as a person, I come from a small village called Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire which is just as stereotypically “country English” as it sounds. The Church I attended was Ian’s old Church “Whitefriars” which was set up in a Junior school hall. The similarities between your own Church and Whitefriars is startling in the way that we have a youth band and an emphasis on Family related worship. Living with my Mother and older Sister in Higham Ferrers, I attended Higham Infants, Junior and Higham Specialist Arts College which was a Drama, Dance and music school. I finished my higher education in 6thform this year and decided I couldn’t put up with more education and needed something life changing and worthwhile. After several months of full time work at the local supermarket, I arrive here in Geelong with a big smile on my face.

Throughout my school life I struggled with Christianity, despite being brought up in a Christian family and choosing to be baptised age 12. I felt there must be something more to life and I couldn’t find anything inspiring in the Church until my Youth leader showed me a Bible verse: Ephesians 6 V10-20. Coincidently, the very same bible verse the youth will be looking at this morning. A verse which I feel lends itself to most situations. Putting on the armour of God and determinedly standing in the way of adversity and difficulty in the name of faith is a strong message. It has helped me enormously and I picked it for the verse today because I feel that encouragement is needed to the Church as a whole as well as its youth. There is often a resounding feeling of God’s presence when His people stand together in the face of their personal troubles and pronounce their faith.

God Bless.

November 20th

Welcome to everyone worshipping with us this week. A very special welcome to anyone visiting – we trust you are able to “do business with God” and enjoy the fellowship of His people.

My thanks go to Noel Williams who, at short notice, agreed to preach today thus freeing me up to concentrate on the Annual Meeting which follows the service. We look forward to hearing what God will say through him on our latest Covenant & Kingdom sermon.

Speaking of the Annual Meeting, it will commence at approximately 11:45 this morning giving everyone a chance to grab a quick cuppa after the service. There will be no elections this year as we have exactly the right number of candidates for positions. None the less it’s important to acknowledge that they are duly appointed as your representatives. Consequently your Vestry for this year comprises:

Vicar’s Warden - Chris Crook;

Churchwardens - Jeanenne Thomas & Peter Brown;

Vestry - Andrew Slade, Anthea McConachy, Denise McConachy, Eric Dixon, Inica Castle, Judy Trevaskis, Joanne van der Schoor, Ron van der Schoor, Ross Whitehand.

In addition, the Incumbency Committee remains unchanged: Ben Castle & Eric Dixon who would be joined by at least one Warden if it were to be convened (which only happens if for any reason I was to discontinue as Incumbent).

After consulting with the Wardens, there is no General Business, so the meeting will be contained to the formal receiving of reports and any questions that arise from the reports.

We did receive one formal question from Janet Clough as follows: “When are we going to get back to having regular opportunity during services for people to speak testimonies of what God has been doing in their lives. Hearing testimonies is always an encouragement to people and it is scriptural.”

As this is a question relating to the format of worship services, it falls within my provenance to answer, (and would not normally therefore be handled in a General Meeting), as I have done privately to Janet in the past. However for the benefit of everyone else I will repeat my answer here.

Because we are an Anglican Church it is the Vicar’s decision and responsibility to order what happens in worship each week. The decision is based on a number of things but includes: The guidance of the Holy Spirit; my discernment (along with others in leadership) of what the Spirit is saying to the church; Anglican tradition; times and seasons; sermon series; pastoral care of the congregation; public interface; etc.

 

I heartily agree that hearing testimonies can be beneficial and encouraging to other members of the church, which is why we have provision in every service for such things to happen. Usually on the week we celebrate the Lord’s Supper I choose not to have any additional ministry due mainly to time constraints. It has been my pleasure recently to reformat Mission Sundays which now include such testimonies. From time to time I will also be pleased to include other testimonies as appropriate. If you ever have something you believe the church would benefit from hearing, please do see myself and/or the MC for the week to see if it would be appropriate either then or sometime in the future.

One such decision about ‘worship order’ is that next week (Mission Sunday) the service will be led by members of our youth ministry and facilitated by Owen Gough. Something to look forward to!

God bless,   Ian.

 

November 13th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church. If you are visiting, please do take the time to join us after the service where we can get to know you better. In the meantime, we trust you will be able to engage with God as we gather to worship His son Jesus.

Today we continue our series on Covenant & Kingdom, the DNA of the Bible. One of the things we wil look at in particular is the crucifixion of Jesus and we will touch on the abandonment He expressed in some of His last words before He died. On reading an article from Leadership Weekly, I came across the following passage:

Christian faith is built on presence. Whether in the pillar of fire, the still small voice, or the incarnate Son, God has been Emmanuel, "with us." He has promised never to leave or forsake us. In thousands of hymns, we have sung of an experienced intimacy with God in Christ. We have prayed, wept, and rested in his presence.

 

For a committed Christian, then, nothing is more devastating than divine absence, spiritual loneliness, the experience of our prayers hitting a ceiling of brass.

 

Yet when the sixteenth-century mystic John of the Cross identified a similar phenomenon—this spiritual desolation called the "dark night of the soul"—he insisted that it is an important spiritual discipline. The dark night, said John, is a tortuous but fruitful path to union with God. 

 

One good reason for giving the dark night a second look is because of who undergoes it. Among the sufferers are some of the church's most faithful leaders: people such as C. S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther. Perhaps the best way to begin to understand this experience of darkness is to listen in as they struggle to find meaning in the midst of their nights.

 

Lewis's night came after the death of his wife, Joy. Mother Teresa's came at the very founding of her Missionaries of Charity and lasted to the end of her life. Luther's plagued him as a young monk, but also later as a Reformer. Each story illustrates a different kind of dark night, and bestowed its sufferer with unique blessings.

It is a comfort to me that all the “greats” of our faith have times of “great questioning” – even Jesus. To me, it goes to Jesus’ full identification with my human condition and reassures me that I am not the only one who dares to ask our awesome God, “Why?”

At the heart of our faith is one who took on suffering. If we truly follow him then we must expect the same. Dying to self so that others might have life is a theme (and a practise)  - a spiritual discipline we all need to learn to embrace. And imagine a community that demonstrates self-sacrifice as a way of life. What would that communicate to our People of Peace? Well, it would demonstrate Jesus!

God bless,    Ian.

November 6th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church. If you are visiting you are especially welcome and we hope you  are able to meet with God whilst you are with us. There is always prayer after each service so if you sense that God is speaking to you about anything in particular, please make your way to the front at the end of the service and folk will be there to pray with you. Please also stay for a cuppa in the hall where we get to know each other better.

 

This week we continue our preaching series on Covenant & Kingdom, The DNA of the Bible –          today’s sermon will focus on the way Jesus encouraged his followers to draw away to regroup and seek   revelation from God. We will also explore how Jesus brought Peter into close identification    with  himself as a child of God and that we too are called to this relationship.

 

Sometimes as I’m preparing these sermons it feels as though we are talking about things which are very far away from the kinds of things we talk about with our friends, families and workmates. So much of our lives are concentrated on the present that we often don’t even get the chance to talk about eternity. I wonder how we can bring questions of spiritual importance into our conversations. Maybe we need to be prepared to ask our own honest questions out loud? Perhaps as we begin to churn over the spiritual weight of what we do, others might begin to ask the same questions of    themselves. In all this, if we can “keep the rumours of God alive” there’ll be opportunities for people    of peace to ask us significant questions when the chance arises. We can be known as the “God-person” ! Can you “wear” that label?

 

This week saw the beginning of a new ministry at St Matt’s as Owen Gough led the Junior Youth Group, (ably assisted by some other volunteers from the Senior Youth). About 11 young people        (in years 5-9 at school) will meet for six weeks this term in the context of fun and finding out more about God. Praise God for giving us this privilege and sending someone to start it up. It’s not too   early to pray for someone to keep the work going when Owen finishes in the middle of next year! But in the mean time, do pray for good, safe times of fun and growing fellowship amongst our next crop   of youth.

 

Another wonderful thing happened this week as we were able to donate a class-set of bibles to Tate Street Primary School. (Ask Anne Booth for her story of what happened in her class when they used them for the first time!) Again, it is such a privilege to be able to make God’s word available – it’s one of my favourite jobs as a minister to hep this happen and we are all involved in this gift as a portion of our mission budget for this year was used to buy the bibles. It’s good gospel work that we are partners in.

 

God bless,   Ian.

October 30th

Welcome to St Matthew’s on the last Sunday in October! (The year is certainly slipping away). If you are visiting you are especially welcome and we’d love you to stay for a cuppa after the service, in the hall, so we can get to know you better.

Regular attenders may have noticed that at long last work has begun on refurbishing the exterior of the “old church” (present Sunday school). Our old friend Roy Calic is doing the work so don’t forget to say G’day if you see him around the place during the week. Thanks also to Andrew Slade for doing some of the preparation work.

An industrious working bee was held at Tate Street Primary School last Saturday by the members of the Tate Street and Launch Clusters. A long list was worked through and the Principal is again very thankful for our support of their community. A new team of Kid’s Hope mentors are also being trained for the coming year which I think will just about double our numbers there.

The big news is that our Junior Youth (school years 5-9) ministry will be kicking off this week under the leadership of Owen Gough. Please pray for this new venture and contact Owen for further information.

It’s AGM time of the year again which this year will be held after the service on Sunday 20th November. Annual Reports will be available from Sunday 6th November. There will also be a formal notice next week including the agenda for the meeting.

At the meeting, there will be election for Wardens, Vestry and Incumbency Committee. Only those on the Electoral Roll are eligible to: nominate others, be nominated and vote. As with every year, the Wardens and I have recently revised the current Electoral Roll and the names of folk who have ceased worshipping regularly with us (for whatever reason) have been removed. The Electoral Roll is different to the People Register (which should have all our regular St Matt’s family on it – this has a pastoral function). Today you will find a copy of both the Electoral Roll and the People Register on the information table at the bottom of the ramp into the hall. (Please do not remove either document from the table).

What we would like you to do is to check both documents. If you are not on either and you would like to be, please fill in the appropriate form (also available on the table). If we have inadvertently left you off either list, please accept our apologies but do draw our attention to it so that we can rectify it. You are eligible for the People Register just by coming and considering yourself part of the St Matt’s family. You are eligible for the Electoral Roll if you are: 18, baptised, and worship regularly at St Matt’s.

If you would like to talk to me about these things or discuss being nominated for any of the above positions, you are very welcome – the Wardens are also available in this regard.

God bless,  Ian.

October 23rd

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church this week. If you are here for the first time you are especially welcome. We’d love to get to know you, so please do take a chance to introduce yourself to those around you and stay for a cuppa after the service.

Being the 4th Sunday of the month, this is one of our “Mission Sundays”, meaning that we choose to focus most of the service on some aspect of Mission that our church is involved in. Younger families are out meeting as church informally on this day and so there are no organised teaching for children this morning. However there are some coloured boxes on the steps of the old sanctuary which have age-appropriate activities for those who would like to use them.

For the last three years, Mission Sunday has also been a time of “musical fasting”, ie we didn’t have any music, in order to honour God by focussing on our various Mission objectives. This has been very hard for all of us, especially those who consider music to be integral to gathered worship (which is most of us!) However, at the most recent meeting of Vestry (church council), I was able to recount some very happy news.

On my last Oasis Day (my monthly retreat day with the Lord) I went into it asking the Lord, “When will it be time to finish this ‘fast’, and how will I know?” Unbeknown to me, my daily bible reading for the day included the following:

Psalm 108:1-5  A song. A psalm of David. “My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.  (2)  Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.  (3)  I will praise you, LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.  (4)  For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  (5)  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”

 

I burst out laughing and gave thanks and praise to God for making it so clear to me that the time was NOW!

So today we will sing and make music with all our souls – giving thanks to God for showing us more about mission and teaching how to worship him with or without music.

And also today we welcome back our good friends Chris & Jenni who have been working as missionaries in Eurasia. That season has ended for them now and we look forward to hearing all about that and what the future holds for them. They have been a source of great inspiration for me personally for many years and it will be good to hear from them both how God’s good news of salvation through Jesus is still relevant and vitally important here in Australia.

God bless,   Ian.

October 16th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church on the day we celebrate our Patron Saint - Matthew! Otherwise known as our Patronal Festival; it has been more common-place in recent times to use the day to thank God for all that He has given us at St Matt’s and to look forward to what we believe He will do amongst us in the future.

The simple act of starting in the “old Church” and moving through to the “new Church” reminds us that God is a sending God, calling us to go out in mission and take “church” to those who have not yet experienced and know the truth of his love for them.

After the service today there will be a light lunch for all to share; even if you are worshipping with us for the first time for whatever reason, you are welcome to join us, there will be plenty.

Today we will continue our series on Covenant & Kingdom, the DNA of the Bible, based on Mike Breen’s book of the same name. As we consider the temptation of Jesus, we will examine how this, (amongst other key events), demonstrates a way of life for each of us, as followers of Jesus, that goes so much deeper than mere intellectual understanding. Because of our covenant relationship with our heavenly father, through Jesus, we have all the same claims to relationship with God that Jesus had. Because of that relationship, we have the same authority and power and the responsibility to use it.

Next week we will have a mini-hiatus from the series as we welcome back Chris & Jenni who have been working in Eurasia.

In the coming week, the Synod of the Diocese of Melbourne meets to consider progress of the Archbishop’s Vision for the diocese: Making the word of God Fully Known along with many and varied pieces of legislation which help the governance of this large institution to which we belong. Your prayers for the smooth running of Synod and a continued mission focus for the diocese are needed.

God bless,   Ian.

 

September 18th

Welcome to everyone worshipping with us at St Matt’s this week. Worshipping God is something we love to do together and we are glad that you could join us. We expect that each one will meet with God through His Spirit, His Word and His People. If you would like anything explained or if you are seeking prayer about anything, please do come to the front after the service where some specially trained people will assist you. And do come through for a cuppa in the hall where the fellowship continues.

Today we are blessed to have Lyn Pearson preach to us about King David and his experience of Covenant relationship and Kingdom responsibility with God, in our current sermon series on “the DNA of the Bible”, based on Mike Breen’s book of the same name. If you have a Kindle e-book or iPad/iPhone you can order Covenant & Kingdom online at Amazon.com. Our sermons are recorded and you can listen to them again via our website or order a copy on CD via the office. (Due to Ross’s illness, we are a bit behind in getting those recordings to you, so please be patient!)

What a wonderful achievement for Sam Stosur to win the US Open tennis championship! Australians love their sport, don’t we? And we often have a strong reputation around the world for our prowess. (Just last week I watched international wins in Cricket, Rugby & Basketball). And of course our own beloved Cats are also currently doing well.  But I was reflecting today about how proud we are of sports success and why we place such importance on winning games – which really don’t change the world much at all.

Do you think we should care about changing the world? How would it be if Australia’s best reputation was for our ability to get involved working for transformation in communities across the world. How about if we were renowned for “punching above our weight” in working towards reducing Third-world poverty, preventing curable diseases, treating refugees justly, etc? I know that some of these issues seem just too big for us to think about – but if we don’t, who will? Let’s keep praying about that.

But let’s also take up the challenge of “thinking Globally, acting locally”. I visited Eden Park nursing home the other day with Rhonda Williams, our Pastoral Care Co-ordinator, (don’t forget to ring Rhonda first, with any pastoral matters – phone number on the front page). We spoke with the activities co-ordinator and she would love us to become even more involved than we already are with the monthly communion service. Specifically she is looking for someone(s) to help establish a sensory garden for the dementia patients. (Planting lavender and other nice-smelling plants, plants to touch, raised garden-beds to dig in, etc.) She would also love a man who is practically minded and good with his hands to engage with some of the male residents who used to be tradies. Surely we have some folk who could do that?

I think in these kinds of ways (like we do at Tate Street and the Op-shop) we will bring transformation to these established communities and bit by bit to our larger community we serve. Imagine being renowned for that!

God bless,    Ian.

September 11th

 Welcome to St Matthew's church. We expect that everyone who worships with us this week will encounter God, enjoy fellowship with His people, and be changed by His Spirit to be more like His Son.

 September 11; 10 years on. No doubt many of us can remember exactly where we were the day planes controlled by terrorists flew into the twin towers in New York. It is an event which has left scars on all of us. Terrorism is aptly named. There is a fear element in our lives which seems more real than it used to.

 But I sense there is also new hope as a consequence. I sense that there is a great desire for ordinary people to prove that there is much more in the world that is good than there is that is evil. What confidence can any of us have to justify such a theory?

 Here's a few thoughts:

• Humans are all made in the image of God

• God saw what He had made and declared it good

• Despite creation's rebellion against God, He is, person by person, redeeming the world to himself

• Jesus demonstrated the perfect way to overcome evil, by expressing love through willing self-sacrifice

• God's Holy Spirit, above all else, empowers all followers of Jesus, to do likewise

• There are millions of us working with Jesus, to bring in God's kingdom where there is no terror and no conceivable need for it

As it happens, I was working in the UK in 2001, ministering at the church where we met the Gough family. Owen sits amongst us this morning, (probably struggling to stay awake due to jet lag!), as a very welcome addition to the staff team. Owen has been learning youth ministry from the youth leader that I employed all those years ago. So whilst not an expert, Owen certainly has rich experience on which to draw. Owen will be working for us on a very part-time basis and will be looking for other part-time employment to support himself. We are thankful to God for him and for causing Owen to invest in our Ministry. Please pray for him and our junior youth as often as possible. Welcome Owen!

God bless,    Ian.

August 28th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church. If you’ve never been before you’ll find today an interesting experience! Once a month we have no music, in order to help us focus on Mission – so we call it Mission Sunday. In addition, there are no organised children’s activities as one of our Mission-Pods (for young families) will be gathering somewhere else. However, if you require something to occupy younger minds there are activity boxes on the steps of the old sanctuary.

Meanwhile, the rest of us today will focus on our Mission to Tate Street Primary School. 3219 is actually recognised as a “poverty postcode” and Tate Street shows many of the signs of social depravation. It’s a great thrill to be able to show practical compassion to the school community and today you will hear a few stories to warm your heart. But do at least join us in the Mission by praying for the school. Pray for the teachers who have to work so very hard and especially Terry Scott the Principal who seems to have to manage issues that would make most of our hair curl! Pray for the children who for whatever reason are suffering, sometimes without even realising. They need stability, order and consistent, determined love.

In addition today we will hear from Pr Geoff Casey as he continues the sermon series on Covenant & Kingdom, the DNA of the Bible. (It’s great to have Geoff and Chris as part of our fellowship). After having a look at God’s Covenant with Noah last week, today we turn our attention to Abraham.

I spent a fair bit of this week thinking back on the implications of sinning against someone who bears the image of God. When we sin against someone God has created (anyone) we are actually sinning against God. I find that quite a challenge – that means even my secret (!) sins against someone I don’t like very much are still sins against God.

I hope you all know me well enough by now that the last thing I wish to do is hang another guilt trip on anyone. But I notice this: the more I am honest about my sin, the more I appreciate God’s choice to love me, forgive me and re-embrace me, if you like. It’s so wonderful to be loved despite all my falleness.  There are only so many people I feel truly free to be with; people I would run to and allow them to fully embrace me. But God our Father is one of them and I long for all of us to share this growing sense of identity found only in the arms of the one who made us, redeemed us and is reforming us to be all that we can be.

God bless,   Ian.

21st August

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church. If you’re visiting, we hope you find a place amongst Gods people. Do make yourself know to us and if you can, stay for a cuppa after the service when we can get to k now you better.

Today we continue our series on Covenant & Kingdom, the DNA of the bible, based on Mike Breen’s book of the same title.  We will revisit the Flood narrative and the Tower of Babel and find God doing all he can to bring Humans back into a right relationship with himself and each other. We know from history and the scriptures that God achieved this completely through Jesus – if you would like to know more about how He did this please ask.

The other night I finally managed to watch an episode of the ABC’s Q & A which I had taped. In particular I was interested to hear John Lennox, (Episode 23, 18th July, 2011, ABC TV), Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University. He was out in Australia recently debating on the existence of God with professed Atheist, Peter Singer.

But on this episode of Q & A, quite apart from the content discussed I was very impressed with the manner in which he listened respectfully to opposing opinions whilst maintaining his clear belief in the truth of Christianity.

It occurred to me that could learn much from his style. Sometimes we shut ourselves off from other people’s ideas, perhaps fearing that we will lose an argument or have our faith tainted. And there is certainly a strain within scripture that suggests we should keep ourselves pure, as it were. However the problem with this kind of “ghetto” mentality is that if we surrender to it, we also cut ourselves off from any meaningful dialogue with all those who need to hear the truth about Jesus.

What I liked about John Lennox’s approach was his respectful interest. That is, he never once condemned anyone with an opposing view. Of course, neither did Jesus. Jesus openly engaged with those who needed to hear the gospel and this should be our mindset as well. So if we find ourselves in conversation with someone who expresses their spirituality or lack of it, differently to ours, let us employ this attitude of respectful interest. Ask questions to find out more about the person’s opinion. Why and what do they believe or not believe as the case maybe? In this way we will at least demonstrate an attitude which should in turn encourage a similar one towards our own beliefs.

Jesus is the most impressive character in history. Let’s keep finding ways to tell others about Him. But let us be prepared to do all the active listening required in order for Him to get a good hearing!

God bless,     Ian.

14th August

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church - please feel free to encounter God while you worship with us!

It is our aim each to offer our lives as living sacrifices that please God. We know that if it were down to us that would be impossible. But Jesus has died for us, paying the penalty for our sinful rebellion against God; shed his blood for us, cleansing us from all impurities. And He has risen victorious over death, giving us unshakeable confidence that because of God’s grace and mercy towards us, we can enter humbly into His presence. If you have not yet found a way to trust in the work of Jesus, please find someone to ask after the service today. We believe that new life is available to all – today!

Friends, the world seems in a very shaky place. The riots in the UK are very sober reminders that even in civilised nations; order can break down given the right kind of conditions: mistrust, racism, perceived poverty, loss of confidence in government, financial strain.

It is only two weeks since we had as our reading, Hebrews 12:14-15  Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.  (15)  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Consider also Hebrews 13:1-6  Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.  (2)  Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  (3)  Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.  . . .  (5)  Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  (6)  So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?"

When we demonstrate in our lives and relationships with each other, the above traits, the world will notice and yearn for the order that follows in communities which submit to the will of God. We have an important role to play in the coming weeks, months and years as the things which society has placed its trust in breaks down.

We need to stand, persevere, have faith in God through Jesus, not human institutions. Let us be like that – “Lord, help us to be your light and salt – especially when life seem dark and sour”.

God bless,     Ian.

 

July 31st

Welcome to St Matthew’s church. As we gather together, it is good to know that Jesus is with us, leading us by His Spirit and changing us more into His own likeness. If yu are visiting you are especially welcome and we hope that you will clearly sense the presence of God amongst His people here. Please make yourself know and join us for coffee after the service when you can find out more about who we are as a community.

This week marks the final sermon in the series on Paul’s “second” letter to the church at Corinth. The tone continues to harden as Paul deals with some harsh truths amongst the Christians there. As usual, it will be helpful to turn the spotlight on ourselves to see if in any way we also (both as individuals and as a community) need to examine our lives and behaviours.

And life keeps having its ups and downs. We want to celebrate the achievement of sporting heroes (well done Cadel Evans!) yet grieve enormously with Norwegian people over the tragedy in Oslo. And one next to the other seems massively out of wack.

There are also financial issues like the strength of the Aussie dollar compared to the US but probably alongside and interest rate increase on home loans. And all this great wealth next to the horrific poverty of two thirds of the world.

In the face of such big dilemmas, it’s useful to hold onto an idea like, “Think globally, act locally”. The idea is that the big issues inform us but the reality is we can usually only see our local decisions and actions having an effect.

But far more important and basic really, is to have a firm anchor in Jesus Christ. When all else is stripped away, we can but trust in the one who loves us and whole world. The one who has the world in his hand. The one who knows more than we can ever know about what’s really going on. And the one who decided we were so important to Him that he would come and live amongst us, and die in our place, that we might live and be free!

Let us order our lives in such a way that we live for Him first, other next and ourselves last and let him transform our lives and others as we do. 

God bless,   Ian.

July 24th

Welcome to St Matthews Church! We trust you will feel able to worship with us and enjoy the presence of God amongst His people. Jesus promised us many things while he lived on earth; and two of them were firstly that he would be present with us when two or more were gathered in his name and secondly that he would be with us for all time, even after he had returned to heaven. That means of course, (if His promises are true and reliable), that He is with us today; here; amongst us.

I wonder if that changes your expectations for what might happen during worship? You see we gather together, not just because we assent intellectually to biblical truths, but because we experience the reality of His presence. We believe it and experience it. And if God is here amongst us, what does he want for us? Individually? Corporately?

First and foremost, he wants us to acknowledge him as Saviour and Lord. Therefore we should come with attitudes that include: thankfulness (for our salvation); repentance (as we acknowledge that we have not lived up to his Holy standards for our lives); and submission (as we choose to re-align our lives according to his will and purposes). From that place we will be better able to hear his voice by listening to his Word and Spirit which means when we follow, we will more closely match his own footsteps. In other words, we will go and do what He asks of us rather than our own ideas. And the beauty of it is, the more we do as He directs, the more our own will comes into line with His, as we see life & the world through His eyes, as it were.

This is really important everyday, not just Sundays of course! But especially each Mission Sunday, as we seek to hear directly from God about one of our four Mission Objectives. This week we will hear from the Op-Shop about what they’re up to and what they hope to achieve. Then, as we did last Mission Sunday, we will take some time to be quiet and listen to what God may be saying. They may be words of encouragement, pictures or names of people that he wants us to pay special attention to, issues to focus our prayers on – only God knows! But if He is here amongst and wants to bless our Mission then it is quite natural to expect Him to “speak into” the situation whilst we are gathered.

To facilitate this we will again have paper and pens to write down anything we think may be from the Lord. Again, the framework is one of Love and any prophetic messages will be clearly from God if they are Strengthening, Comforting and Encouraging. I will moderate the process so that we also fulfil another scriptural requirement that everything should be done decently and in order.

God bless,   Ian.

July 17th

G’day and welcome to St Matt’s.Our Vicar, Ian, is on Annual leave.Today Inica Castle is taking his preaching spot at the lectern. We are very blessed to have such a variety of  gifted people willing to have a go at leading in so many ways, please encourage them whenever you have the opportunity.

As I sit down to write this I can’t stop that quirky jazz-style ad for CGU from going over in   my mind (you know, with the beat-poet guy, Larry DigMan, in the beret).  I’m changing the words to…                             

                                                       Wherever you are
                                                       whatever you do,
                                                       we welcome YOU
                                                       to  Saint  Matth  EWS!

Catchy isn’t it?  If you are a visitor today, we’re not going to sing it but we are here for   YOU. Please stay and enjoy a cuppa in the hall after the service and let us welcome you.

Last Saturday I gave a fruit tree pruning demonstration to a group of garden harvesters  from Drysdale. It was a good day. I love this time of year… the cold invigorating days in   the orchard always bring back memories of my father who taught me the art of pruning.

The Bible talks about God being a pruner. In John 15:1-2 Jesus says “I am the true vine, (and we are the branches v5 ), and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful”.

I told the gardening group last week, the first rule of a pruner is to know your tree. Most    apple trees bear fruit on two to three year old spurs that are short branches off the main trunk. I’ve known gardeners to think they are unsightly and have cut them off. The aim of good apple production is to encourage the growth of these spurs and cut off most of the main upright laterals that only grow leaves. Now a peach tree is totally different in that it     is last years laterals that bear the fruit, so if you prune a peach the same way as you    prune an apple you will cut off most of the harvest. Grapes and figs are different again in that they bear fruit on new growth so to get a good crop you prune them back real hard,  just about cutting everything off. The quality of the harvest is really affected by what the          gardener does.

In Galatians 5 Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God knows us, and the best way to “prune” us to increase the crop of fruit. A couple of weeks ago Ian talked about the         generosity of God so, the way I see it is, to develop those fruit we just have to trust God,      t he generous gardener, in our lives.

If you have sensed a touch of God’s Spirit this morning and would like prayer, or simply to talk to someone about it, just come out to the front after the service. One of the prayer team members will be there for you.       Ian will be back tomorrow

God bless,     Chris

 

July 10th  (From Jeanenne)

Hello everyone, and welcome to our worship, especially if you are visiting today.          Afterwards you are invited to join us for a cuppa in the hall. We trust that you will be blessed as we worship, and are invited to join us as we gather around the Lord's table. In Ian's absence, Revd. John Northfield is with us, “Welcome back to Sunday's John”. As you may recall, John leads our midweek communion services which are held        on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 11am, followed by a fellowship lunch, to which     everyone is  invited.

 

During the week I went to the Melbourne Museum to see the Tutankahmun Exhibition. What an amazing collection of ancient artefacts recovered from the Valley of Kings! There were many items from the tomb of Tutankahmun among others. There were crowds of people moving through the exhibition, and a long stream of people waiting their turn outside. I was struck by the ends the Egyptians went to to ensure that the  important people went into the after life with everything they might be supposed to need. I wondered about the prospects of the poor who could not be so well catered for, what they would expect from the afterlife? One thing that they had right was the surety of eternal life after death. I wondered about the crowds who would pass through the exhibition, what do the people in today's world believe about the afterlife?

 

I thought of the contents of the empty tomb where Jesus had been laid; a few linen cloths folded and laid on the slab. Jesus had risen from the dead. The King above all Kings had no need for supplies for the journey or the afterlife, and we as believers, have no need either. Once again I was struck by the amazing generosity of God, who offers to men and women, boys and girls, the free gift of salvation and eternal life through faith in Jesus. We are all important people to God. We cannot provide for our own afterlife; we cannot live a sinless life without fault or blemish, rather, confessing our sins, we find forgiveness. Thank God that he has provided everything we need for salvation and that we are certain that there is no barrier between us and the Father. We celebrate our relationship with Father Son and Holy Spirit today as we freely come to the Lord's Table through the death of Jesus. We hope in Jesus for everything in this life as well as our resurrection to eternal life.

 

If something is stirring and you would like to talk to someone afterwards, there are people available to continue the discussion. Just approach someone out the front, we are more than happy to speak with you. As usual, if you would like prayer, just come out the front after the service and some of our wonderful team will pray with you.

Whilst Ian is on holidays, normal enquiries can be made through the office; for pastoral care needs contact Rhonda Williams, and for any other concerns the wardens can be contacted if necessary. Have a good week.

 

God bless,

Jeanenne.

July 3rd

 

Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s. We hope your experience with us is    fulfilling and that you will find God amongst His people. If you are visiting you   are especially welcome and we’d love you to join us for a cuppa after the service      in the hall.

 

Thank you to everyone who had a go at praying and seeking “a word of prophecy” for my friends Penny & Mark during last week’s service. There were about 45    different responses and at the time of writing this I have not had a chance to collate them and send them on but after a quick read I’m sure Mark will be glad to receive them. I will let you know in due course how they’re getting on.

 

There were prayers, scriptures, words and pictures and it was a real blessing to me just reading through them. What a great church when we can be free to experiment like that during a service! And what a great, “first go”, at collectively hearing from God on a specific issue. This stands us in very good stead for future Mission     Sundays when we can focus our listening to God on our local mission objectives.    I can’t wait until next month! (Don’t forget to do further practise on your own and in your M-Pods and Clusters.) And also, if you do feel like you have a prophetic word for the church, don’t forget you are welcome to write it down and pass it to whoever is leading the service each week – we don’t have to wait for Mission   Sundays!

 

There was some exciting news down at the Brekkie Club this week where I believe four mums from the school joined the team of volunteers. A real answer to prayer.      If you would like to be involved in any way please ask Bob Seaton or Lesley Spurr for more information.

 

We continue our series on 2 Corinthians today, looking at chapter 9. Over the next two weeks I know you’ll make welcome John Northfield and Inica Castle as they tackle the next two chapters whilst I am away on Annual leave. I will return to work on Monday 18th July. In my absence, normal enquiries can still be made via the     office; Rhonda Williams will continue her excellent work co-ordinating Pastoral care and the Wardens can always be contacted if necessary.

 

God bless,    Ian.

June 26th

Welcome to everyone joining us this week at St Matt’s. We hope you will enjoy your time with us and more importantly will be able to engage with God and be transformed more into the likeness of Jesus as a result.

What would it be like if worship had no music? Strange? Quiet? Hollow? One thing it might be like is your experience today. It’s Mission Sunday which we have once each month. (Children stay in the service today, so there are activities in the boxes on the step to the left of the stage – please help yourself.)

About three years ago as I was on my monthly Oasis Day, walking along Anglesea beach, it seemed as though the Lord was challenging me to worship him without music. I had this dialogue going on with him that went something like:

Me: “It can’t be worship without music!”

God: “Who says?”

Me: “You do, don’t you? Doesn’t your word say to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs when we gather together?”

God: “Yes, but I haven’t said you must always do it like that. And how will my people learn what worship could be like outside the church buildings if they don’t try other ways?”

Me: “But won’t they hate me, and won’t I hate the lack of music?”

God: “Well, you might hate the lack of music – I know how much you love music – but will you still worship me if there is none?

Me: “Of course I will, but what will it look and feel like?

God: “How about trusting me and go and find out!”

Me: “But how will this help us with becoming Missional?”

God:  “Firstly they’ll learn about commitment to worship me no matter the circumstances and secondly, they’ll discover that they don’t need a minister or musicians to worship me; which will help them when they finally go out into the community”

Me: “I’m not sure it will work . . . “

And then I got splashed by a rather big wave hitting the rocks . . . .

So, here’s the thing. We’ve been doing this for three years and now it doesn’t feel quite as odd as it used to but to me, the job is only half done. What I think is missing is the commitment to go out into the community each and every Mission Sunday and find ways of expressing our worship where God wants us to be. How will we do that? What can we do on Mission Sundays at church that will help? How will our Clusters help? What will happen for those who just can’t or simply don’t want to go out?

My hunch is that as we work out the answers to those questions we will begin to unlock more of the missing pieces in our missional puzzle. Will you please pray through those questions and if you have an opinion or sense the Lord saying something directly to you about the issues will you please send me a note about it?

Many thanks and God Bless,   Ian.

.

May 29th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church. We believe church is so much more than just gathering together on Sunday mornings, but when we do gather we have a fine time and we’re glad you part of it today! Please stay for a cuppa and chat after the service where we all get to know each other a bit better.

What a treat to celebrate such big birthdays last weekend! These days, when I think about turning 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 . . . . . it causes me to consider my life; where it’s been and where it’s heading. It’s like half or ¾ time at the footy - what do I need to do to make the most of the rest of my life? Have I given it my all? Have I given God my all? In the fourth of our series on 2 Corinthians today we will be considering some very personal accounts of the Apostle Paul and gain insights into how, despite many discomforts, he made the most of the time given him by God.

I’m thrilled that many of us who are directly involved at Tate Street Primary School,  and many others who are supporters of our ministry there, are getting together in the first     official Cluster gathering this afternoon. I think it will help all of us begin to identify more fully with the ministry and especially those who are in ministry with us. It’s important for us to know each other so that we can support one another in this wonderful common ground of mission. And as we establish ourselves as a Cluster (or mid-sized community) we will not only encourage each other but also make it clear to others in the church and wider community, what it is that we stand for and why we exist as church.

As time goes on, I believe we will all end up belonging to one Cluster or another. Don’t forget there are three others in various states of development, (which you are very        welcome to get involved with if you wish): Op-Shop we hear often enough about but have you approached either Glenda Peters or Terrie Crook to enquire how you might be involved; Seniors “Cluster” obviously pre-dates the term Cluster at St Matthew’s but    includes all the elements of UP, IN & OUT – why not ask Marlene Holloway or Lyn  Hudson how you can be involved in either the Fellowship days on Tuesdays or Mid-week Communion on a Wednesday? The Youth Cluster is very much a work in progress also, but does meet every fortnight with whole families and alternate fortnights with the youth on their own in Huddles. Please contact me if you would like to be involved.

God bless,   Ian.

May 22nd

Welcome to St Matt’s!  A special welcome if you are visiting for the first time and if you are, please make yourself known to us and come and have a cuppa in hall after the service. Today’s service falls on our regular, monthly, Mission Sunday, which if you haven’t been to before differs from our other Sundays because it is a music-free Sunday. Also the children will stay in for the whole service but are welcome to use the activities contained in the boxes on the old sanctuary steps.

Today we continue our sermon series on 2 Corinthians and after a splendid sermon from Noel Williams last week, this week we are being treated to the preaching of Chris Crook, (cartographer to the stars, Vicar’s Warden extraordinaire, and all round good guy). Do pray for all our preachers – it is a significant thing for each one to lay themselves open, first of all to what God is saying to them and then to have the   courage to consider in the Spirit what God is saying to the church.

You will notice today, two new offering boxes; one at each of the two interior doors of the church building. Michael Sullivan was able to source the two Perspex boxes, which are lockable and Mr John Hilcke, a member of St Stephen’s Belmont,       manufactured the stands they sit on. My thanks go to those two men for their help with this – some people are extraordinarily clever! So we’ll continue “collecting” cash and envelope tithes and offerings on the way out of worship each week, for those not using direct debit/crediting or internet banking. Just a word of caution, the stands are stable and the boxes fit snugly but they can come adrift so don’t die of fright if that happens to you.

By the way, you might also like to use them to post a note of encouragement to one  of the staff from time to time or to pass on important information like expected       absences or pastoral needs, even prayer requests.

During the week I asked Marlene Holloway and Lyn Hudson to take a joint role ensuring the continued smooth running of existing mid-week activities. By nominating Lyn for Tuesdays (Seniors Fellowship), and Marlene for Wednesdays (mid-week Communion), I hope that they will provide direct liaison with me and be easily       accessible as “go-to-girls” for participants. Activities will thus continue as normal   but we will have a clearly designated person at each activity as the first port of call for enquiries or any other need. They are both wonderful, servant-hearted women  and it’s great to have them contributing in this way. Thank you both for making   yourselves available for this ministry.

God bless,     Ian.

 

May 8th

Welcome to everyone worshiping with us this week. If you are visiting you are most welcome and we’d love you to stay for a cuppa after the service. A Happy Mothers Day to everyone who is a mother or who has one!

Today we begin a new sermon series on 2 Corinthians. We will read one chapter per week and the preacher will choose a passage from within the chapter to focus on. This will take us right through second term (13 chapters and weeks). May I suggest that you pre-read each chapter which will help as you follow the series? It is a hard book and will present challenges for preacher and listener alike! If you can find half an hour, it will be worth reading right through the whole book to gain an insight into Paul’s overall purpose in writing (what actually appears to be) his fourth letter to the church at Corinth. Take a few moments to write down your overall impressions from the letter – what stands out, what impresses, what concerns. (Don’t forget to pray that God will help you understand what you read and ways in which you might apply what you learn.) It’s okay to write down any questions and if they don’t get answered in the sermon then you can always ask the preacher afterwards and/or discuss them in your Pod or Cluster. And don’t forget, you can order a copy of the sermon via the office or download it from our website. In the follow up question below I’ve just included some standard questions to ask of any passage from scripture.

For those wishing to study the bible in a group we currently have a Know Your Bible group which meets on a Wednesday afternoon and a Men’s group which meets on a Tuesday evening. More details are available from the office.

It seems important not to let three significant World Events pass without some comment.

1. The Royal Wedding – England doing her thing perhaps like no other country can; and the Church of England also putting her best foot forward – wasn’t the choir amazing? But of course the most important part is the couple themselves. They really need our prayers – the media scrutiny is more than enough to test the privacy of any marriage, and sadly has already been fatal in that family. On the other hand – their wedding gives us all the opportunity to bring Marriage in general under scrutiny as God’s plan for couples as the safest place for true intimacy between a man and a woman. Those of us in marriages must guard and nurture them and all of us should pray for all married couples everywhere that they uphold God’s healthy standards and bear good witness to His love for us all through Jesus.

2. The death of Osama bin Laden – such an important conclusion to a ten year man-hunt. So much grief and fear addressed, especially from the USA, but with what consequences and with how much integrity? I have no particular answers but I continue to have questions about the nature of justice, the place of revenge and the role of international citizens and neighbours on the global stage. These are bigger issues than perhaps most of us can readily address but the principles are important and remain relevant at the local level.

3. The tornado in Auckland – the world seems in “natural” chaos. Are we living in the end times? Yes. Is the end closer now than before? Yes. Is it imminent? Jesus said no one knows the answer to this question, only the Father. Meanwhile we go on living in the reality we do know and see. We pray for those who are grieving, we lend practical support where we can. We laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep and we do our best to communicate what we know of God’s love to those who don’t know it.

 

God bless,  Ian.

 

April 17th

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church. If you are visiting today you are especially welcome and we’d love you to join us for a cuppa after the service so we can get to know you better and vice versa!

Today is traditionally celebrated as Palm Sunday, hence the greenery around the church today. Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover Festival. The Passover is celebrated each year by Jews reminding them of the time when Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt and the Angel of Death ‘passed over’ the houses of the Hebrew (eventually the Jews) people. They were saved or delivered from slavery to the ruler of Egypt.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem he was heading inexorably towards his own confrontation with the powers or rulers of his day. Ultimately, instead of the lambs that were sacrificed by the Jews,  whose blood was smeared over their doorposts. Jesus would allow himself to be sacrificed in order that his blood would cover our sins. Incredibly, he came willingly and in peace – challenging all preconceptions of how God’s Kingdom would come.

So Palm Sunday marks the beginning of a special week in the history of the Christian faith and church. There would be much teaching by Jesus that special week which we have carried on      communicating to each new generation of Christians. The Last Supper, Crucifixion and Resurrection all happened within the space of a week and became pivotal in shaping the world as we know it.

Perhaps you might like to use this week reflecting on all that Jesus Christ achieved for you and all humankind. Over the Easter weekend we will hold a service of reflection on Good Friday at 10am and an Easter celebration on Sunday at 10am also. Why not plan to come to both services and    allow yourself to enter, spiritually, into the darkness and light of the Easter event? Musically we will have a classical flavour on Good Friday as Ben Castle assembles a string ensemble to aid our worship. I trust you will find this season’s services helpful in your devotion to God and that you will meet him amongst His people. They are also a perfect opportunity to invite your people of peace to come and hear the story of what God has done for us in Jesus.

Also today, we are honoured to have Rev Kevin Booth preaching to us. He will continue our series from John’s gospel which is drawing to a conclusion over the next two weeks.

 

Meanwhile, for our regulars, please do take the chance to fill out your confidential pledge form with regards your tithes and offerings. We hope to have all forms in by Easter which will help our budgeting process for the future. Whether you normally give cash, use envelopes or some form of electronic giving, it will help us enormously if you give us a firm indication of your intended giving pattern. Our treasurer especially thanks you for your assistance with this. But also, your Vestry (church council) and I are better enabled to plan strategically about staffing and other ministry priorities if we know more accurately our expected income. Again, many thanks to all of you who are able to help in this way.

Margaret Hagans has received news this week that she has been appointed as the Locum Vicar at St Andrew’s, Corio, starting in May, immediately she finishes her time with us. We offer our congratulations to her and the congregation at St Andrew’s who are gaining a wonderful minister.

 

God bless,

Ian.

 

April 10th

 

Welcome to St Matthew’s Church in East Geelong. To anyone visiting this week we offer a special welcome and hope you will experience God’s love in our midst. Do make yourself known and stay for a cuppa after the service.

Today we also make welcome Ellen Alexander who is the Director of Ministry Development for Interserve. Ellen’s role includes helping to shape and develop existing and new areas of ministry, taking forward their International Priorities, and ensuring that Interserve internationally is engaging with current Missiological

Ellen came to faith when she was in high school in South India, and always wanted to be involved in mission. She received her first cross-cultural training at the Discipleship Training Centre in Singapore, when studying for a post-graduate diploma in theology. Ellen holds an MA in Philosophy and MTh in Applied Theology. She has served as Chair on the Indian Interserve Council, and more recently on their Transitional International Council.  She served for five years with UESI (the evangelical student movement of India), and has lectured at a Graduate College in Bangalore, India, teaching Philosophy, Ethics, Religion and Culture.

Ellen enjoys tackling issues such as suffering and risk, gender and generational inclusivity, and holistic mission.  Her Indian background and international experience add a rich perspective to her sharing. Ellen is married to Vijay and they have two adult children.  They currently live in Bangalore.

Meanwhile back at church we’ve had some good news for the mid-week congregation. The Rev John Northfield has agreed to run the mid-week service each fortnight for the rest of the year (at least), beginning on the second Wednesday in May, after Margaret Hagans finishes. Many of you will have met John as visiting preacher a couple of times in the last twelve months and I certainly had good reports of his times with us. I will join with the Pastoral Care Team to ensure Eden Park Nursing Home continues to receive its excellent monthly communion services provided by St Matt’s.

Our church council (Vestry) meets Monday night – please uphold us all in your prayers.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Eric Dixon for his magnificent work on the grounds all year. They are looking great at the moment and I know he got a bit of extra help at the recent working bee but in the main it is his determination to keep serving God and our church in this way that keeps them looking so good. Eric, we really appreciate you for all kinds of things but not least the way you care for us all with the gardens.

God bless,     Ian

 

April 3rd

 

Welcome to St Matthew’s where we trust God’s Spirit will testify to your spirit that you are a child of God. We join together to celebrate that we are children together of the Most High God. We have learnt this by following Jesus and trusting his promises. It’s good to meet together and encourage one another and spur one another on to greater deeds. Wow – that’s a lot but it sure isn’t boring! It’s about living life to the fullest, which we believe is God’s call to us all.

A huge thankyou must go out to Andrew Slade & Peter Brown for their work building & wiring the new stage area. Already I have heard comments along the lines, “It looks as though it was always there!” Next job to be completed is the relocation of the sound-desk into the old pulpit which will then allow us to finally clear up the seating space in the north end of the church building. It will also mean much better eye to eye communication with the sound operators, who we should also give thanks to God for. Having good sound is vital each week, so we thank all our volunteers who help in this way, especially: Ray, Wraggy, Andrew, Roger & Ross.

While we’re on thanks – take a look around and notice the cleaner buildings, thanks to everyone who came and helped at the Working Bee yesterday. There are a number of folk who also clean the church and hall regularly who also deserve our thanks. And there are still vacancies for anyone who would wish to assist in this very practical way – please contact Maz in the office (10am to 12pm, Mon –Fri, ph: 5221 5353).

Vestry also wished me to offer formal thanks to our wonderful Marlene Holloway who has finally conceded that it would be okay for her to retire from the office – again! (Actually she may still be seen from time to time helping out – she just loves us so much). We love you Marlene and you can stay around as long as you want.

Kids Hope Mentoring has begun in earnest at Tate Street Primary School and apart from some first day jitters by the mentors, is bringing blessing to us already, and hopefully for the children too! Please uphold us in your prayers: Ian Weaver, Richard Pearson, Lesley Spurr, Michael Sullivan & Bob Seaton. Anyone interested in Mentoring should make enquiries either to me or Richard Pearson. (There is training and other requirements). All being well the Brekky Club will recommence next term – there are still spaces for volunteers there too – please contact Janet Clough for that. Your prayers for that continuing ministry along with the spiritually vital, CRE program would be really appreciated.

Let’s keep on with the mission together! I heard someone say the other day, “Church is the effect of Mission, not the other way round”. (Mission is the Cause, Church is the Effect). That is, church happens as a consequence of doing mission, not mission happening as a consequence of being church.” That bears some thinking about . . . .

God bless,     Ian

 

March 20th

 

Welcome to St Matthew’s. If you are visiting we’d love to get to know you so please make yourself known and do stay for a cuppa and chat after the service.

Over the last couple of years our church council, (Vestry), has been working towards seeing ourselves as a Local Mission Agency rather than a conventional Parish, [as we keep moving from being an Attractional (we expect people to come to us) to a Missional (we go to people where they are) church]. This is a natural movement in concept as we continue to strive to be more about mission than maintenance. Both are needed, but mission needs to set the priorities in order for us to reach our 2

Recently we identified four mission priorities which can be directly related to our church structure in that they each have a developing missional community supporting them, that we call Clusters. Remember the idea behind clusters is to have 20-50 people, who all have the same mission focus, meeting regularly together (sometimes on Mission Sunday). They are supposedly “small enough to care (you can still know everyone) but large enough to dare (there’s enough of you to make an impact)”.

Tate Street Primary School – Kid's Hope mentors, Brekky Club volunteers, CRE teachers and their families and friends are all clear on their mission field. The next step in establishing a Cluster could be as simple as gathering them all together on a Mission Sunday for food, fellowship & prayer. I would expect that as they gather together over time, God will show them further steps for engaging with the school and eventually seeing some school folk wanting to belong to their Cluster. I recently spoke very directly to the Principal, Terry Scott, saying that we had a group of people who were praying for the good of the school and would be available to help in ways yet to be discerned. He was impressed and excited. I sense that the Lord is going to unfold for us an amazing number of opportunities over the next few months and years.

Seniors – already firmly established with Mid-week Communion, Senior’s Fellowship, Eden Park Nursing Home service and Senior’s Week Hymn Sing-along. Margaret Hagans has been overseeing the whole lot whilst allowing various key folk to add impetus to specific events. How can we help them fully appreciate their mission field and group identity? The current government statistics point to a doubling of this age bracket in our society so they need targeted mission. When you couple the elderly with the soon-to-be-retired and recently retired it becomes a very large mission field indeed. Strategically, we need to employ someone to oversee this once Margaret has moved on.

Op-Shop – as you know already, is going absolutely “gang-busters” financially and making great strides also relationally. Glenda Peters & Terrie Crook are employed as managers and Jo van der Schoor leads the Cluster generally. This group has already made good use of Mission Sunday gatherings and has enormous potential to see many new people belonging to the Kingdom. A new Pod has sprung up from within and there are also fledgling link with Geelong High School for work experience. What about connections with the East Geelong Traders Association? The sky is the limit!

Youth – with the passage of time and the maturing of the various members of the youth-pods have sprung fresh challenges. How can we keep the fringe kids? What should we be asking of our Christian kids in terms of service and leadership? The current plan is to have the Launch Pod host a fortnightly missional community event consisting of food, fellowship, devotions. This will be a family-based event working on the common values that all the families connected to our youth have. The desire to belong seems strong in many of the families yet they have rejected formal religion in their adult years. So we need prayer that they will find in this venture a place to connect with God as well as keep connected to their kids. This will be supplemented by a girl’s huddle (mentoring group) and a boy’s huddle which Anthea McConachy and Roger Rickard respectively will host for Senior Youth. They in turn will be huddled by me. This leaves (at the time of writing) a Junior-Youth “hole” which will in some measure be catered for by a Sunday morning huddle run by Kevin Booth. We need at least one assistant leader to cover Sundays when Kevin has to go be an Army Chaplain.  Again, to be vitally strategic, we need to work towards employing a skilled Youth Minister to oversee and equip our young people’s discipleship.                          

Every Mission Agency needs money to run; so, of course, does strategic Local Mission. We believe these four areas of Mission, (whilst not being our only areas of mission), really need focus and investment, especially in the next couple of years. We would therefore like you to think of your tithes as going totally towards our mission and specifically these four mission areas.  You’ll find an insert this week and next which is a Pledge Form. This is for everyone to fill in with regards their regular tithe – which all goes towards the mission of our church.

From time to time St Matt’s will identify and draw to your attention, special causes to support. You will also possibly have a favourite non-St Matt’s mission. Your offerings for these should be over and above your tithes to the church and you will no doubt have your own arrangements for them.

The Pledge Form is confidential between you, God and the Treasurer. Its main purpose is to help us budget responsibly and help you to think strategically about how your tithe is used. No one will ever be followed up or otherwise harassed if for some reason you cannot continue with your pledge. A discreet note to the Treasurer will be sufficient to notify any change.

It is worth remembering that St Matt’s receives no outside funding. All money received essentially is from our own pockets and our hard work at the Op-Shop – God’s provision for us in every way.

Will you consider joining me in strategically investing your tithe in the Mission of St Matt’s?

God bless,      Ian.

 

March 13th

Welcome to St Matthew’s church. If you are visiting you are very welcome and we’d love to get to know you better, so please stay after the service for a cuppa and chat in the hall.

Today’s service is Holy Communion and everyone is welcome at the Lord’s Table. Again if you are visiting, this includes you – likewise if you are unsure because you’ve never been confirmed or baptised or whatever – you are welcome! Especially if you feel unworthy for any reason – you are welcome! Jesus came & died so that you and I could be called children of God. We are loved children of God – it’s hard to imagine anyone missing out on a meal prepared for them by their loving father – so do come.

In some important news; last week I sat down with Margaret Hagans to think about what the future might look like. We had recently been exploring together how long we could reasonably plan ahead and I had asked her if she would commit for another two years. This set off a train of thought for Margaret which, whilst uncomfortable, seems to have come from God about future ministry development.

Therefore, as you'll read below, Margaret & I have agreed, under God, that her season of ministry amongst us is coming to an end. My own initial reaction was one of panic (!) and it turns out that was quite similar to her own. None the less, the truth about each crisis is that it always creates an opportunity for something new. We'll wait and see what the Lord reveals for us on that score. More will be said later but for now I certainly want to go on record thanking Margaret for three wonderful years of faithful ministry, friendship and collegiality. As you know she is incredibly gracious and has wisdom by the bucket-load. I will miss her as I know you will too. Here now are some words from Margaret.  

God bless,   Ian.

Dear friends, I am letting you know that May the 1st will be my last Sunday at St. Matthew's as Assistant Minister. Ian and I had a very friendly, positive and encouraging discussion as I raised the possibility of ministering elsewhere.  (There is no elsewhere at the moment!)  

I have been greatly blessed being part of this great congregation.  I have made so many friends and I will miss you all deeply.  Leaving you is a heart-rending thought. However, God always has a purpose to fulfil.    It has been a privilege to have shared in the ministry of expository preaching and teaching, and the various aspects of ministry and care here.  I will always be deeply thankful to Ian for inviting me and welcoming me to be his assistant.  The constant support, guidance and the words of appreciation that Ian has given over these last 3 years have greatly encouraged me in my ministry here.  Deep felt thanks also to all of you, congregation, vestries and wardens who have made me so welcome and so often conveyed your appreciation.  I cannot adequately convey how much your love and support have meant to me. May God bless you and may the Holy Spirit empower you to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord Jesus.  

With Love and prayer, Margaret.

March 6th

Welcome to St Matthew's! We hope you feel welcome and can engage with God amongst His people this week. If you are visiting please do make yourself known to us and join us for a cuppa after the service.

Today we have a Sausage Sizzle as a special treat so please stay for that as well. It's an excellent excuse to spend a bit more time of fellowship with each other. Thanks to those who are preparing this for us.

However, due to a programming error in my head (!!!!!), some of us will be going off quickly to Eastern Gardens for a the Keep Australia  Beautiful Day clean-up. We will meet at the covered BBQ area adjacent to the Children's Playground, register, work for a couple of hours then go get some fish and chips to eat by the foreshore.

This is just one way some of us are finding to go out amongst our community to show that the church cares about the same sorts of things the community cares about. Our involvement at both Geelong High School and Tate Street Primary School are other ways. The Op-Shop is an ever-present reminder to our community and our outreach to Eden Park Nursing Home is likewise. St Matt's is doing very well in helping the community know that Christianity is relevant and active. And almost all of our activities are forms of mission that even our people of peace can be involved in with us, even before they might call themselves Christians.

Becoming a Christian is a process and we, as a church, are committed to the idea that many people will choose to belong to us well before they actually believe all that we do. And in some cases they will actually behave (eg. serve the community) the way we do before they understand our motivation for such things. Perseverance seems to be a key – we're talking about the long-haul here.

I was watching the movie, “Geronimo: An American Legend” the other day which was all about the subjugation of the Apache tribes in the 1800's. There was much trouble, strife, betrayal by all sides, including the government, and at one stage a first lieutenant of the 6th Cavalry said to his second lieutenant, “We're building a country – it's hard!”

I was struck by how real that statement was for us. We're building community – it's hard! All kinds of relationships, allowing ourselves to be held accountable, dying to self for the sake of others, serving rather than seeking to be served – Jesus' community is hard! But it's also worth it. I can't imagine life without being in community of people  who choose to follow Jesus. It is life-giving, it is sustaining, it's hopeful and caring. We are like that already and God is shaping us more and more into the image of his Son. It's good to belong to St Matt's!

God bless,     Ian.

 

From Margaret

February 27th , 2011

 

February 20th , 2011

Welcome everyone to St Matt's this week. It's great to have you with us and if you are visiting we'd love you to say “hello” so that we can get to know you better. There is a cuppa in the hall after the service so we can enjoy each other's company less formally – do feel free to stay and join us.

During the week our Vestry (church council) met and discussed a number of items.  Some staffing issues were raised such as:

Margaret Hagans is nearing completion of her third year with us and hopes to remain with us for the foreseeable future, although her number of days to be worked (at St Matt's) will decrease from 4 to 3 with her day off now being

Monday. She is also studying a Master of Theology and will make use of entitled study leave later in the year.

We are now able to pay Anne Booth 1 day per week

We hope to find a person or persons to fill a Junior Youth Ministry position 1or 2 days per week.

I will be commencing a Master of Arts (Ministry) this year which will also require use of entitled study leave for a week or two later in the year. 

We also debriefed on the Season of Rest over January. We noted that for some there was not much rest! In a bid to ensure that those volunteers who are very involved throughout the year are actually given a break – we determined that the whole congregation would be invited to help with rostered welcoming and morning tea during this period. People would be approached around November time to check availability.

As we looked at our finances we resolved to implement a Pledge Program to coincide with the new giving year for Stewardship Envelopes. Whilst we encourage giving in all forms our preference is for electronic giving and information will be made available in the coming weeks about this. However all members will be encouraged to give an indication of their anticipated giving amounts and methods over a twelve month period. A small working group will be preparing information and a proper process for anonymity. This will all help our treasurer prepare informed and therefore more reliable budgets.

It appears that the Vicarage will be leased again soon which is making a certain amount of cash available for our part-time ministry staff which is also heavily subsidised by the income from the Op-Shop. We believe it should be our ultimate goal to release all such funds for clearly missional ministry, as distinct from maintenance/running costs of the church. This value will also be explored during the coming weeks.

Senior Youth Ministry will take a different shape this year consisting of a fortnightly Cluster with Launch Pod families and fortnightly, mentoring/discipleship huddles led by Anthea McConachy and Roger Rickard.

So there's a busy year ahead and I would value your prayers for all of us as a number of new ministry ideas are trialled.

God bless,   Ian.