From the Vicar 2009 Archive
Sept 27th, 2009
A warm welcome to anyone visiting us today, Mission Sunday! It is a shorter service which gives us opportunity to go out afterwards into the community. Some of our folk are not here today as they have taken the opportunity to cluster together at other times and places, still others are away for the school holidays. We trust that you will be blessed in fellowshipping with us today.
Stephen Copland brings us the message this morning from Proverbs, as part of our E 100 series, where we are reading the 100 essential scripture passages. It isn’t too late to join us as we read through the Bible; pick up a leaflet today. We look forward to hearing what Steve has to say as an introduction to how to understand this book of wisdom.
I have been reminded once more of the love of our gracious God as I read about Gideon, Joshua, Solomon, David and many others. How honestly the bible reports the history of God’s people; the ups and downs of life, the struggles and the victories, the merciful nature of a God who upholds the law yet forgives and restores those behaving badly. What an amazing gospel we are entrusted with. Now it is our turn to carry the flame of God’s love, very ordinary people who know an extraordinary God.
While Ian and Andy are away on holidays, Margaret and Rhonda are available for any pastoral inquiries, and Jo van der Schoor and I are available if there are any other concerns. Of course, Richard is manning the church office along with our trusty volunteers.
The prophecy (Ezekiel 36:8-12) the we had about the leaders(mountains) being ploughed and sown seems to be happening through the difficulties we have been experiencing of late, I am praying for the time of blessing and fruitfulness that was promised to follow. May Jesus bless you today, and in the weeks ahead,
Love
Jeanenne
Vicar’s Warden.
Sept 20th, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us today. If you are visiting we’d love you to make yourself known and also to stay for a cuppa and chat after the service.
We had a great St Matthew’s Day, Thanksgiving Service last week. Thanks to all those who contributed to the day, which in fact is everyone who was here since we all count in our community. A special thanks to Graham Trevaskis and his team for producing a tasty meal for the rest of us. The great big wonderful news is that as special offerings we have so far received just over $21,000 which is a huge boost to the coming year! Praise God for His marvellous provision through His faithful people, you and me. The challenge remains for our regular tithing to become more regular and consistent and yes, to increase so that we can eventually do all that we believe God is calling us to.
Vestry was very excited to hear this news when we met last Monday night; it was such an encouragement to us all. I can also report (in brief) on the following issues:
Budget – For the first time in a long time we have approved a budget that appears to be heading for either a very small surplus or deficit. This is a much more responsible position to take. However, it has come at the cost of reducing the paid administrative support from 20 to 5 hours per week from February onwards. This will have a significant impact on the running of the church which we still need to consider. We will also be unable to make a church tithe until such time as our personal levels of tithing increase. This has implications for the Missionary Agencies we have been supporting corporately in recent years.
Op-Shop – The Wardens and I have met with the existing managers, and whilst they did not elaborate on any specifics it is clear there are differences in approach to mission & funding which cannot be resolved. Vestry has decided that the ministry and potential for both a fully-functioning Cluster which also generates income are too important to give up and so we are exploring ways to continue the ministry with a new vision which incorporates all the original aims of the Op-shop, especially “serving the community with a spirit of generosity”. Subject to securing adequate volunteer support it is anticipated that a paid manager will be employed as a staff member of St Matt’s.
Managing conflict – Vestry would like to remind and encourage all members of our church to take seriously the process described in Matthew 18:15-17. It is almost impossible to deal with any level of misunderstanding, let alone conflict, if the people directly concerned don’t communicate clearly with each other. It is not appropriate and in fact unbiblical to talk behind people’s backs, as it were. Certainly this can seem a hard thing to do, and at times it may be necessary to take another person with you – but that is way Jesus said to deal with things, so let us commit to His process.
God bless, Ian.
Sept 13th, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us today on St Matthew’s Day! It is a long-standing tradition in the Anglican Church that each local church building is named after one of the heroes from the early church in order to inspire each new generation of believers with the faith and example of our “Patron Saint”. Therefore today we are celebrating our “Patronal Festival of St Matthew”.
Whilst we will spend some time thinking again briefly about Matthew, at St Matt’s we tend to use these days to focus on God, particularly by giving thanks for all that he has done and is doing amongst us, in this current generation of believers in Jesus; those who gather in and around the buildings we call St Matt’s. The truth is that we the people are the church. Therefore when we give thanks to God for our church and its activities we are in fact giving thanks to God for all who belong to St Matt’s.
Some belong on the fringes, for some it’s their whole life; for most it’s somewhere in between. There’s no doubt that however much each of us feels like we belong there is much to give thanks to God for our involvement with the people of St Matt’s and ministry to and from each other.
One of the ways of expressing our thanks today will be through the Thanksgiving Offering. Please make use of the prepared envelopes to write down some prayers of thanks to God and if you are able, to also make a special financial contribution. In order to make the distinction between our regular tithes and this special offering there will be two collections today. One as normal for our regular tithes using the bowls and then at the end of the service and as a response to all that we’ve considered; an opportunity to rise and move forward and place our envelopes in the “treasure chest”. Then there’ll be lunch to which everyone is invited!
In other good news, due to some vacancies arising on Vestry, I’ve had the opportunity to ask Ross Whitehand to join us for the remainder of the year. Thankfully he has accepted and we wish him well! Our next Vestry meeting is this coming Monday at which we will, in the main, consider the coming year’s budget and a proposal for the future operation of the Op-Shop. You’re prayers are very welcome.
Happy St Matt’s Day & God bless you all, Ian.
Sept 6th, 2009
Welcome to St Matt’s and Happy Father’s Day! If you are visiting, please make yourself known to us and join us for a cuppa after the service.
Especially we welcome the families and friends of Heidi Nixon and Isaac Watts who are both being baptised today. Baptism is a signpost marking the beginning of a lifelong journey; learning about and following Jesus Christ. In my experience, those who make an honest and diligent exploration of Jesus, usually find him to be just as he described himself - “the way, the truth and the life”.
At our church we baptise those who’ve made the decision themselves to follow Jesus. We also baptise “those who are unable to answer for themselves”, the old prayer-book calls it. The baptism of infants is an ancient if somewhat controversial practise since it appears to take away the choice of the individual being baptised. Well, that’s true, but only in the same way that all the choices parents make for their babies; clothes, food, education, friends – are made on their behalf. That’s the parent’s job – to make responsible decisions that babies aren’t old enough to make yet. And like all the other sets of decisions, the children will one day have to decide for themselves whether their parents made the right choice or not .
But we congratulate any parent making the choice to involve themselves in a community that cares for each other and wants only the best for each other and for each individual to reach their maximum potential as determined not just by imperfect parents and friends but by the absolutely perfect Creator of the Universe – the one who loves us all completely and for all eternity!
On Father’s Day, it is perhaps even more poignant to once again consider our heavenly Father’s love for us. Our earthly fathers may be excellent or disastrous but they are certainly all flawed! In contrast we remember, especially today through baptism, how our perfect heavenly Father has always made a way for us to come back to him. He has always thought the best of us and wanted the best for us. And He remains the only one who can see us perfectly and yet still offers unconditional love to us. The Apostle Paul says,
(Rom 5:8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Most of our fathers try to give us their best. Our heavenly father has succeeded in giving us His best; He has given us Jesus.
God bless, Ian.
Aug 30th, 2009
Welcome to St Matthew’s! If you are visiting you are especially welcome and we hope you will make yourself known to us and find out all about our church.
We continue our sermon series on the E100 – the essential 100 readings from the whole bible to help us get a handle on what God is up to in the world. I’m finding it really good to be journeying with you through the scriptures, not just on Sundays of course, but throughout the week with the daily readings. If you would like to join in, please ask for an E100 reading card and there are also exercise books available to use as journals if you wish.
Today’s passage is a significant one, in terms of leadership. What does God ask of leaders, what does he promise, how do they get taught, what do they get taught, what roles the followers play, etc. This has been a seminal passage for me in my own understanding of leadership, (along with studying Moses and especially, of course, Jesus and even Paul) and bears much fruit from personal meditation. All of us in some measure are leaders, especially inasmuch as we lead those who don’t yet know Jesus closer towards knowing him. Verse 9, in particular I have always found helpful,
Jos 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Whether you are in an official leadership position or not – this is a time for strength and courage for our church. We face very large challenges with our finances and our personnel (unfortunately this week has seen another casualty; Jack Black has resigned as one of our wardens), some of our folk are very sick. It’s really important to hold onto the call and promises of God at these times in life and although that does not divert the painful reality of what we’re going through, it reminds us of our identity, which is in Christ and is not diminished by anything that life throws us.
May I encourage you all to be strong and courageous; to not be afraid; to remember that the Lord is always with us; to think well of each other, encourage each other and especially to pray for God to guide us by His Holy Spirit, who leads us into the truth about Jesus who is the true leader of our church.
God bless, Ian.
Aug 23rd, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matts. If you are visiting today, you are especially welcome and we would love it if you would make yourself known and stay for a cuppa after the service.
Today is our monthly “Mission Sunday”, which means the service will focus on the various ways our church is engaged with the wider community. To help our focus there won’t be any music. Because it’s Mission Sunday our younger families are gathering at “Kids Run a Muk” and as a consequence there is no Sunday Kids Program offered today. However, any children present are welcome to find themselves some activities in the plastic tubs which will be on the Sanctuary step.
In our church community we were presented with a very large financial challenge last week. I know all the “earners” in my family are thinking hard about how to respond and I’m sure they are in yours too.
As mentioned last week, Vestry had an emergency meeting last Tuesday at which a number of important decisions were made and priorities set.
One principle in operation is that everyone is involved and affected. Another is that we need to pay our own staff and other commitments before we can be as generous to others as we have enjoyed being over recent years. I guess in other words it’s a case of “having to feed our children first”.
Nonetheless, we have had to say that we can only guarantee (based on current levels of giving and other income) our administration position until the end of September this year. We hope with a good response to our St Matthew’s Day Thanksgiving Offering that we will be able to extend on a month by month basis. The good news is that this means all other ministry positions seem secure for now. The bad news is that the potential for utter mayhem in the office is very high. So prayers are needed! On a very personal note this obviously has significant and direct implications for the Shawcross family. We want to assure them of our love and prayers as they consider how to respond.
Unfortunately Vestry & I also had to respond to the very unwelcome and completely unexpected news that all three Op-Shop managers had resigned that day! I believe they intend to continue operations until the end of November. The Wardens and I will now consider how best to respond, short-term and long-term, including getting to the bottom of why this has happened. It seems we are in the midst of our very own annus horribilus! Again I ask for your prayers; particularly for wisdom.
God bless, Ian.
Aug 16th, 2009
Good morning and welcome to St Matthew’s this Sunday morning – it’s great to have you with us. A special welcome to you if you are here for the first time this morning – make sure you get a copy of our ‘Welcome to St Matthew’s’ booklet, which gives you a good overview of who we are and what we’re all about!!
Most of you will know that we are now three weeks in to our Bible overview series of sermons. Lots of us are following through the e100 series of Bible readings at home during the week, and then on Sunday we’re looking together at one of the week’s readings. If you haven’t got one of the e100 cards to take home, make sure you get one of those too! There are even more resources, including books and discussions guides available online at www.e100challenge.org.au
Today we’ll be thinking about Joseph and the way God shaped him and used him to further his purposes on earth in establishing a people who would be a light to the world. During the service, Ian will also be reminding us again of our vision as a church to fulfil our role in God’s purposes, and how all of us can be involved in that.
Finally, don’t forget that next Sunday is Cluster and Pod Sunday again – where pods and clusters are encouraged to be church in different ways out in the community with their people of peace, rather than coming to the Sunday service (which will nevertheless happen as usual at 10.00am).
It’s great to have you with us.
Andy
Aug 9th, 2009
Welcome, to all present at St. Matthew’s today. If there are visitors, we extend a particular welcome to you and hope you will join us for tea or coffee in the hall after the service. Please make yourself known to us before you leave. The new seating formation has been widely welcomed. Your comments, about the glare and which screen to watch, were welcomed and are being positively considered
Thank you for your prayers for all aspects of life and witness at St. Matthew’s and the continuing ministry at Dame Phyllis Frost. The women who attend the Sunday services there, are sometimes surprised, but always grateful that Christians pray for them. There is much prayer in our church. Prayer is hard work and calls for passion. Passionate prayer cries out to God. It is definite, acknowledging helplessness and is in faith. Passionate prayer is often desperate and always fervent. Passionate prayer is dependent, for Jesus says, “without me you can do nothing”. The prayer of the righteous is effective and powerful. James 5 16
Our Pastoral Care store of provisions is being put to good use. Thank you for keeping up the supplies. There are many within our church, as well as outside, who benefit. The provision is for all who may require assistance. Due to illness, or family stress, or other concerns, time for shopping and cooking may be low on your list of priorities or beyond your strength. These are the occasions when we wish to assist you and your family. Each Sunday there will be two Pastoral Care team members available to talk with you, perhaps make an appointment to see a staff member, or supply you and your family with cooked frozen meals and other food from the supplies. These encounters are always in the strictest confidence. Today, Lindsay and I are the two serving pastoral carers. Take time to talk to us, especially if you, or some one you know, needs assistance. Also, please let us know if you have ideas or suggestions for further, effectual pastoral care at St. Matthew’s. We are here to serve.
Yours in His service ,
Margaret.
Aug 2nd, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s! If you are visiting you wouldn’t perhaps realise but we have just turned the inside of the church round 90 degrees, and this is our first Sunday using it like this. It is different! Some design features we’re proud of are: increased seating capacity; more space in the back row for prams and other traffic; good carpet spaces for families sitting and playing; (hopefully) a greater sense of community by not just looking at the backs of people heads; lots more colour courtesy of some Mary Black productions; and in most cases less distance between worship leaders and people.
Please do give the new arrangement a few weeks to get used to and then pass on any constructive criticism to staff and /or vestry members. A huge THANK YOU to all who helped shift furniture and other necessary bits and pieces ready for today.
The Essential 100™ is here!
The Essential 100™, is a list of short Bible passages—50 from the Old Testament and 50 from the New Testament—enabling a person to get the big picture of the Bible without getting bogged down. Most passages are 1-2 chapters in length and can easily be read in 10 minutes or less.
The readings are carefully selected to cover all major types of biblical writing including Historical Books, Poetry and Wisdom, the Prophets, the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles and Revelation. All this in just 20 weeks!
Here’s what to do:
Listen to each Sunday’s sermon (if you miss it live you can ask for a CD copy or download it from our website www.stmatthews.org.au) as a taster for the ensuing week’s group of five readings. Punch out the hole for each reading you do to keep tabs on where you’re up to. (There are two make-up days each week so no excuses!) Pray before you start that God would speak to you as you read, and that you would understand. Keep your red exercise book handy to take notes as you read, write down any questions you have, etc. Any issues raised can be taken to your M-Pod for discussion or you can do your own research or ask one of the staff! Why not use what you learn in the reading as the basis of a prayer for yourself or someone that you know?
We’re all in this together – all the staff, all the pod-leaders, all the vestry, all the church are all going to try to do this. We will need to encourage one another as we go but we will be honouring God as we get to know Him through His word, so much better. UP, we go!
The concept for The Essential 100™ was first described in a devotional book called The Essential Bible Guide by Scripture Union USA President Whitney T. Kuniholm. In Australia, Scripture Union can be contacted at www.scriptureunion.org.au, or call 1800 808 639. Thanks to Bob Seaton for drawing my attention to this program.
July 26th, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us today. If you are visiting, please do make yourself known to us and let us know if there’s anything we can help you with.
You’ve caught us on our monthly Mission Sunday, which means a couple of things. Firstly, you’ll notice that there is no music; we do this to help us focus on Mission. Secondly, there is no formal program for children (as the Families and Friends Cluster are meeting elsewhere) however there are activities available at the front of church in the labelled tubs. Whilst you may all this a bit different we hope you’ll find as we do, that the worship is none the less pretty helpful.
Being Mission Sunday, we’ve taken the opportunity to invite Glen Fairweather, from Prison Fellowship to speak to us this morning. It’s my great pleasure to have Glen join us as he and I have known each other for a few years now and can claim amongst other things, to have a shared passion in the Geelong Football Club. (We’re also pretty interested in helping people follow Jesus!) One of our M-Pods is very involved in staffing the Visitor’s Centre at Barwon Prison, Margaret Hagans is a chaplain at Dame Phyllis Frost, and we even have a guard at Marngoneet – so it’s a great Gospel connection all round.
After the service (and after a cuppa) today I’ll be asking strong and willing people to help rearrange the furniture in the church. We’ll move as much of the heavy stuff as we can today so that during the week, minor electrical and cosmetic work can be done so that we are ready when we gather again next Sunday. There is some measure of excitement and trepidation. (I discovered that something similar was done 25 years ago which only lasted one week, at the time, and then about ten years ago it nearly happened again but there was a change of heart at the last moment.) We do hope that, as we try this next new thing, we’ll achieve: a greater sense of community; better communication between worship leaders and congregation; greater seating capacity; and a vibrancy of colour as paintings are brought in. We’ll should also experience less disruption by having the main entrance at the back of the worship space instead of the front and hopefully an easier time for parents.
Meanwhile our church finances continue to be a cause of considerable concern. We face enormous challenges to maintain our current level of ministry. I met with the Wardens and Treasurer last night as we began to consider how we should approach not only the deficit we face for this financial year but also ongoing commitments for next year. We were encouraged as we remembered Jesus once asking his disciples to put their boat out again after an unsuccessful fishing trip. Because it was Jesus who asked they complied – and found to their amazement that sure enough, there were fish in abundance. We believe that Jesus is asking us to “keep fishing” and so we press on. None the less, we urgently need prayer and action from all of us. We will provide details shortly of a new strategy.
God bless, Ian.
July 19th, 2009
Good morning everyone.
Welcome to St Matthew’s this week – it’s great to have you with us. If you are here for the first time, then I hope you feel especially welcome. Please do make yourself known to someone, and get hold of a copy of our ‘Welcome to St Matthew’s’ brochure which gives you lots of information about our church.
By the time you read this, I will have been into Geelong High School for the first time as assistant chaplain. Having been doing this on an ad hoc basis over the last year, I have been asked by the school to be the assistant chaplain and to go in every Friday.
We are really pleased, as St Matthew’s, to be able to support the school in this way, and I am really hopeful that we can make a positive contribution into the lives of students in that school over the coming months. Please do pray for this relationship with the school, that I would have wisdom and strength in getting alongside students and staff in the best possible way. If you would like to be more involved in any way, please just let me know.
Also this week, we say ‘Good-bye’ to Gordon and Judy Lingard as they move up to Melbourne to start new jobs – Judy at Wesley College and Gordon at St Leonard’s. It’s been great having you with us over the last few months guys, and we wish you all the best for the new start in Melbourne.
Thanks for being part of our community here at St Matthew’s,
Yours,
Andy Goodacre
July 12th, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s. If you’re visiting you are very welcome and we look forward to sharing what we know and love about God with you as we worship together.
This week is a special one for the whole Anglican Diocese as each parish “throws open its doors” to the public in order to connect better with them.
At St Matt’s we will be open daily between 12-2pm and 5-9pm Monday 13th to Saturday 18th. Visitors will find a warm welcome and an opportunity to explore prayer in a variety of creative ways. If you’ve been talking about prayer with your Person of Peace then this is a perfect opportunity to bring them along and engage with the activities provided. The church will be relatively quiet and private although there will be Guides to assist when necessary. If you have a couple of hours to spare during this week it would be great if you could put your name down to help either as a Guide or as a Host in the hall to serve a cuppa.
Some very hard work has been put in to the four prayer stations by the members of five M-Pods/Clusters. THANKS has been prepared by 299, WOW by Mainly Music, SORRY by Heart & Hands, PLEASE by God Pod in conjunction with Op-Shop.
In addition, some amazing layout work has been done by our resident cartographer, Chris Crook, in the production of our long-awaited Information Booklet which you should all have received a copy of today, as will all visitors in future. Please make sure if you see someone new in church that they get their hands on a copy of the booklet. In it you will find a simple explanation of M-Pods and Clusters and how to get involved in them and other various activities of the church. Included is a response form which should aid the initial communication between newcomers and the office & staff.
Finally, last week saw the final Evening Service until such time as a new vision and committed core are given to us by God. (I decided to finish it two weeks earlier than planned in order to minimise potential confusion for any newcomers in the next week or so.) We give thanks to God for the freedom to try new things and to let them go when they’re not working as intended. My thanks to everyone who contributed over the last few months whilst we explored the viability of that option. What new opportunities will now be created . . . . . . ?
God bless, Ian.
July 5th, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s. If you are visiting you are especially welcome and we invite you to join us for a cuppa and chat after the service; please do introduce yourself so that we can tell you more about our church.
Just one week to go until Open Week begins at St Matt’s and around the Diocese. Please do take some flyers with you today as an aid to inviting a person of peace to come with you and make some discoveries about prayer. We hope it will generate discussion amongst you and your friends about the place of prayer in our lives; whether it works, why we do it, etc. And hopefully there will also be opportunities to minister to real needs by talking through the kinds of issues we might pray about. The church itself will be quiet and warm (!) with some folk to guide where necessary. There will be a cuppa on in the hall for those who wish to stay for a bit more of a chat once they’ve made it through the prayer-stations.
Why don’t we each try to at least invite one person who doesn’t normally come to St Matt’s?
Meanwhile, things like the footy, hobbies and other networks of relationships are really to be valued by us all – for our own genuine enjoyment and also for places to find people of peace, like the river outside Thyatira where Paul met Lydia (as we heard last week). Don’t let us forget to live the life God has given us to the full and in doing that, be salt and light as we go.
In staffing news, after 17 years Glenda Salmon has decided to move to another church. I have valued her contributions in recent years as a volunteer staff member assisting Rhonda as Pastoral Care Co-ordinator and I know she will be greatly missed by all of us as friend and carer to many. I have thanked her formally on your behalf and assured her of our prayers for God’s blessing in her new church family.
God bless, Ian.
June 28th, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s this weekend. Almost half the year gone!
Today is our monthly “Cluster” Sunday. Some folk will have taken the opportunity, to not come to the service and instead done something fun &/or creative with their M-Pod/Cluster and their People of Peace that they might otherwise not have the chance to do. (For example, Families & Friends will be meeting at an alternative time today.) Not everyone will choose to take these opportunities – that’s perfectly okay but we are trying to remember how many people are not in church on Sundays and how many opportunities we can create by being available to go to them, rather than expecting them to come to us.
For those of us who don’t go “out” at this time, we are however still involved in this missional activity by using this service to focus on the mission of the church generally, but also specifically the work of M-Pods & Clusters. To help us do this we continue with our pattern of not having any singing. It’s a bit like fasting helps us focus on God; we treat this as a kind of “musical fast” helping us to focus on the mission of God.
Our preacher today is The Rev’d Kevin Booth, a member of our morning congregation and husband to our star Children’s Minister, Anne. During his spare time (!), Kevin is full time chaplain at Oberon High School. We met when he & I were at Ridley Theological College. It’s great to have Kevin and all his family part of our church now and a thrill to hear him speak today.
Further, to our notice about St Matt’s Open Week, we can now advise there will be four “stations” of prayer: Thanks; Wow!; Sorry; Please – which M-Pods are taking responsibility for developing. We need YOU to think about if you can give one or two hours during Open Week, to be a guide/host AND to be praying for an opportunity for you to ask your Person of Peace to come and join you in some peaceful & quiet exploration of prayer. Invitational flyers will be available soon for distribution.
God bless, Ian.
June 21st, 2009
Welcome everyone to St Matt’s this week. Thank you to all those who complimented on the morning service last week – encouragements are always welcome! It was indeed a great time of celebration.
In contrast, the poor old evening service feels a bit like it’s limping along – if numbers were all we went by. Having said that, we have a great time there also and a higher level of intimacy balances out the lower level of what Max Weber (sociologist) once described as “collective effervescence”. Please give careful and prayerful consideration to my note on the page opposite about the evening service.
Today sees the last in the current sermon series on Prophecy. The purpose of today’s talk is specifically to outline how we will manage: learning, testing, practising prophecy within gathered worship, M-Pods and Clusters. If you still have unresolved questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me or one of the staff, or your M-Pod leader.
I hope St Matt’s will be able to hold a two-day conference either later this year or early next year (TBC) to which we will invite other churches (both leaders & members) to join our exploration of the prophetic along with our model of church. I am currently in the process of inviting an international guest to frontline this event. So, because the leadership of St Matt’s are convinced God wants to speak to us in this prophetic way and to see it as just as normal as more “conventional” ways, there will be ongoing opportunities for you to keep growing in your knowledge if this aspect of discipleship.
Finally, next Sunday is our monthly “Cluster” Sunday. I want to remind you that this is an opportunity, and clear permission, to not come to the service if there’s something fun &/or creative that you could do with your M-Pod/Cluster and your People of Peace that you might otherwise not have the chance to do. It should not be a burden and you don’t have to do it – but please do remember how many people are not in church on Sundays and how many opportunities we can create by being available.
God bless, Ian.
June 14th, 2009
Welcome to everyone visiting St Matt’s today. As a special treat today we welcome the family of Priya Shiells as they join us, (in the morning service), for her baptism.
The baptism of infants is an ancient if somewhat controversial practise since it appears to take away the choice of the individual being baptised. Well, that’s true, but only in the same way that all the choices parents make for their babies; clothes, food, education, friends – are made on their behalf. That’s the parent’s job – to make responsible decisions that babies aren’t old enough to make yet. And like all the other sets of decisions, Priya will one day have to decide for herself whether her mum made the right choice or not – one day she will decide whether to make faith in Jesus Christ her own.
But we congratulate Eileen on her choice to involve themselves in a community that cares for each other and wants only the best for each other and for each individual to reach their maximum potential as determined not just by imperfect parents and friends but by the absolutely perfect Creator of the Universe – the one who loves us all completely and for all eternity!
Today we continue our current series on learning about the way God speaks to us and wants us to speak his words to others. Again, the context is God’s tireless desire to communicate his unending love for all people.
At Vestry (church council) this week we took note of the fact that the Evening Service has not been hitting it’s mark, so to speak. With recent changes to staffing we are finding it hard to justify the resources required to make this congregation work, as it is. What we need is a core group of people (about 30) who commit to making this their specific congregation (meaning and including each of: attendance at it, prayer for it, invitations to people of peace to it, participation in making it run, eg. rostered tasks, etc). Vestry has decided that we will give it another six Sundays in which time I need to have the names of 30 people who feel called to this ministry and have had serious discussion with one of the staff about it. The deadline will be the end of the current roster, Sunday 19th July. There’s no need to be concerned – seasons come and go and there will be opportunities for replacements of other kinds if the current target is not reached. Please do pray for a clear response one way or the other.
God bless, Ian.
June 7th, 2009
Hello everyone – welcome to St Matt’s! If you are visiting today we hope that you will be able to engage with God in a meaningful way. If there’s anything we can do to help you please do make yourself known.
A special welcome, (this morning), to the family and friends of Micah Shawcross. We will help Ebony and Rich formally give thanks to God for Micah’s life and pray for his future. We are using a new form of liturgy for that part of the service so we can see Micah already following in his parent’s pioneering footsteps!
How good it has been to have some rain this week! In all our busy-ness, let us not forget to give thanks to God for His constant care and attention for the world and the gracious provision for all that we need. Let us also follow His example of being generous in meeting peoples’ needs – we have so much wealth when we compare ourselves to 2/3’s of the world’s population. Whatever we think we need, they are so much more urgently in need.
I say this because in our current focus on hearing from God through Prophecy, it might be easy to forget the very clear and timeless things God has said to us through scripture and which need to be part of our everyday thinking and responding. Feeding the hungry, caring for aids victims, visiting the sick, finding accommodation for the homeless – even just loving neighbours as ourselves are fundamentals which we cannot ignore at any stage.
And most critically, of course, is God’s clear and insistent call to every human being to follow Jesus. God wants so much for each one of us to place our trust in His Son. Whatever you think might be preventing you from understanding who God is and how you can relate to him personally, has been taken care of by Jesus on the cross. If you’re not sure how this works, please do ask one of the staff; make use of the prayer team (who are available in the side-chapel after the service); or explore the information pages on our website, www.stmatthews.org.au .
Meanwhile, please join me in praying for the discussion taking place between Geelong High School and ourselves, relating to Andy Goodacre’s involvement, potentially as Assistant Chaplain. This could be a key contribution as we continue to serve their school community.
Andy, Margaret Hagans and I were privileged to join most of our clergy colleagues from the whole diocese at a three day conference in Bendigo last week. There was some excellent input and a great deal of professional networking achieved. But I think all three of us remain convinced that what we have here, in the community of St Matt’s, is both unique and enviable and we are very glad to serve amongst you.
God bless, Ian.
May 31st, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us today and Happy Birthday Church! (Many people claim the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in the book of Acts, as the Birthday of the Church). I guess we could quibble about that but of far more importance is the coming of the promised Holy Spirit on all believers at that time and every time someone puts their faith in Jesus Christ.
It’s an amazing concept – that all of us who believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour, have the very power of God at work in us and through us. Not a tiny thought, and worth much reflection and prayer. The very power of God . . . . . in and through us . . . . .
This sets the context beautifully for our current series on prophecy in general, and specifically on how we each hear from God and what we should do with what we hear!
Act 2:17-18 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. (18) Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
I find this one of the most exciting promises of scripture (perhaps second only to the wonderful promise of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life). Yet the topic always seems to cause some amount of controversy. Already I hear there is good discussion going on in M-Pods and around the church generally about what the exploration of all this might mean. I can easily see why most churches leave this topic well alone, thinking it’s more trouble than it’s worth. But that’s like saying, “Let’s leave adoption as sons and daughters of God alone”! There are benefits to being a child of God, and one of the main ones is having the family traits – you know, being able to see like God, think like God and act like God. Of course to do all these we need to know God intimately; well enough to recognise His voice. Then we will have confidence to share what we know.
So I do encourage you to persist with us in this journey of discovery. We are setting safe boundaries, proper processes for discernment within an environment of love and support. I’m sure we will make some mistakes but we all know we can learn through these. But do let us commit this time to God. We must only do what He clearly wants for us to do, in His time and His way. But let us be expectant of great and Godly things in our midst!
God bless, Ian.
May 24th, 2009
Welcome to St Matthew’s this Sunday – especially if this is the first time you have been with us. It’s great to see you. Today is one of our Cluster Sundays, where a number of our pods (small groups) and clusters (mid-sized groups) are out and about doing various activities with friends and families. We encourage all our pods and clusters to do this – as a real reminder that church is about far more than just coming to services on Sundays. Why not be thinking with your pod, or a few pods together, what you could do on the next cluster Sunday, which you could also invite friends and families to.
This Sunday we are again remembering the work of school RE teachers and chaplains, and it is great to have Jane Carrigg, chaplain at Geelong High School, sharing a little with us this morning. As a church we are really keen to support and partner with Jane and Geelong High School, so it is great to have her with us this morning.
As many of you will know, I have just returned from a study break in the USA. I was at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena for two weeks, for a study intensive as part of my MA programme there. I had an excellent time, learning some great and very applicable things, together with some great and inspiring leaders from around the world. Do ask me more about it if you’re interested!
Nevertheless, it is great to be back ‘home’ (Geelong really does feel like home for us now) and back into the swing of things at St Matthews.
Yours,
Andy Goodacre
May 17th, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping at St Matt’s this week. I always find it tremendously encouraging to meet with God’s people and indeed with God himself. Of course we know we can experience the presence of God, communicate with him, etc, on our own, but mostly, as Christians, we are called to exercise that relationship in community.
Whilst what we do on Sundays together many consider “the icing on the cake” of our community”, the actual “cake” is what we manage to do together for all the rest of the week. Being involved in some expressions of missional relationships is so vital to the calling to be and make disciples of Jesus. And we remember that Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs; we need to learn and act on what Jesus thinks is most effective.
And that is why the prophecy about leaders we had last week is so exciting and important. We look to our leaders as mature friends in the faith who will help us explore, discern and put into practise the particular mission Jesus is calling each one of us to. Here again are some of the “words” we received (via Jeanenne Thomas – her words in italics) last week:
Ezekiel 36:8-10
8 " 'But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. 9 I am concerned for you and will look on you with favour; you will be ploughed and sown, 10 and I will multiply the number of people living on you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
V8 . . . As I read this, my thoughts went to the word “mountains”; and I had the sense that it might be about leaders being like mountains, that were/would provide places for increase, growth and provision. M-pod leaders, vestry, wardens, staff (and other forms of leadership)
V9 . . . (seemed to be) Assurance of God’s love and care in the midst of ploughing and sowing (This doesn’t seem to be a comfortable thing!!!)
V10 . . . I had the impression that God was saying to us that he would multiply our numbers. They would belong.
As we continue to explore the notion of God speaking to (each one of) us directly, please do pray for wisdom in discernment and courage to follow-up what He says!
God bless, Ian.
May 9 th, 2009
Welcome to St Matthew’s today. Whether you are already part of our community or just visiting we hope your experience of God in our midst today will be real and valuable.
Especially we welcome Harry’s family and friends as they witness his Baptism. Baptism is a signpost marking the beginning of his lifelong journey learning about and following Jesus Christ. Most people claim to spiritual in some form or other yet it’s quite significant in this day and age to claim the specific spirituality which follows Jesus exclusively.
That statement in itself can seem a bit intolerant; the culture of our society is one in which we are encouraged to embrace all kinds of beliefs as being valid. But the fact is that in the bible, Jesus said of himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John’s Gospel, chapter 14, verse 6). So, is it a bad thing to focus on Jesus exclusively?
Well, there’s nothing stopping anyone exploring other religions. If Jesus is the truth, as He claims, He’s certainly not scared of people exploring the truth because He’s confident they’ll end up finding Him! However, the mistake many people make is exploring all the other religions without first properly investigating who Jesus is, the claims He makes, and the life He calls His followers to live. In my experience, those who actually make an honest and diligent exploration of Jesus, usually find they need look no further. If Jesus really is the way, the truth and the life then he is the complete package.
But the challenge remains to actually do the investigating. Many of us settle for what we learnt at Sunday School or RE or even what we see Ned Flanders do on The Simpsons! The best source for finding out about Jesus is, of course, the Bible. A good place to start is one of the Gospels that retell the historical accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. Why not start with Mark’s Gospel – it’s the shortest!
Meanwhile, today we also welcome our newest addition to the staff team. It is my great pleasure to announce that Mrs Anne Booth is our new Children’s Minister. Anne comes to us with loads of experience in parish-based ministry to children including reaching out to children in local primary schools! Anne has been worshipping along with (most of) her family here at St Matt’s for about 6 months. Please do pray for her as she settles in over the next few weeks.
A huge vote of gratitude goes to Beverley Randall who has been overseeing Sunday Kidz while we’ve been waiting for God to fill this position.
God bless, Ian.
Apr 26th, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s! 1st time or 1000th time (how long would that take?), we hope that you are able to meet with God and enjoy the company of His people today. Please do stay after the service and join us for a cuppa and chat out in the hall.
I’ve just come back from 3 weeks annual leave, two of which were spent caravanning with my family at Narooma, (South Coast, New South Wales). The sunny days were magnificent, the environment inspiring and the company, of course, unsurpassable. There were many times as I lounged in my camp chair, sunglasses on, novel in hand when I found myself thinking, “I could really get used to this!” Mmmmm . . . . . .
But actually . . . . . as I watched the other campers come in with their expensive boats, caravans & cars, and as I thought about a life in which the relentless pursuit of those kinds of goals (ie, working to have great holidays, new and shiny things, better and bigger houses – you know the sort of thing), I felt a real sense of emptiness, purposelessness, jadedness. Is that really the sum total of most people’s lives? Am I any different? Should I be? What is missing in that lifestyle that makes it seem pointless and shallow?
Inevitably, I found myself thinking about “Up, In & Out”. Most of the description above is pretty much an “In” kind of life and I can only stand that for so long.
I can’t hear the early morning chorus of the many varieties of birds, or walk along great stretches of beach, marvel at the sleek and powerful yet playful nature of a sea lion, without turning my attention to the divine and giving praise to our Creator God. (Just one way of adding an “Up” dimension to life).
Likewise, I can’t see the condition of people, some included, some excluded, some arguing, some laughing, some discussing, some exhilarating, all wondering, (at least to some extent), what life’s about, without aching to be an agent of transformation in some of their lives. (Stirrings of an “Out” dimension as we sense Jesus’ heart-beat for his lost people).
Australia is truly a lucky country – in comparison to so much of the world. No serious conflicts, no real poverty, no lack of medical treatment. Good government, plenty of food, fair employment. Have we become so complacent with our relative comfort (so hard-fought for) that we’ve forgotten our responsibilities to God and Neighbour?
Will you join me as we continue to follow Jesus and allow him to direct our lives in all three dimensions – and see His Kingdom come; around and among us?
God bless, Ian.
Apr 19th, 2009
A warm welcome is extended to all who are present with us at the morning or evening service or both! We are the Easter people and we rejoice that Christ our Saviour is alive, lives in us and by the power of the Holy Spirit he empowers us to live the resurrection life, day by day. We extend a warm welcome to those visiting today and hope you will join us for tea or coffee as we enjoy fellowship together in the hall after the services.
We welcome back Ian and Julie, Jack and Gemma after their holiday and we pray that they will have had a time of refreshment and time for each other on their well-deserved break. It is good to have you back with us and we look forward to the coming days of ministry and fellowship. Andy is in America at Fuller Seminary for his intensive study Session. We pray God’s blessing for him as he studies and for Liz and Olivia as they wait for his return.
School starts again this week and we pray for all the boys and girl returning to School and kinder, that all will find friendships that support and teachers who care and encourage. Please remember too all the CRE teachers who will again be taking the Word of God into the schools. If you would like to serve the Lord in a School near you, and have half an hour, plus an hour preparation time each week, please contact Angela Grinter or Jan Whitehand who will be pleased to hear from you and let you have more information...
Today we continue the narratives of the risen Saviour appearing to his disciples. In the presence of the risen Lord, we find there is assurance, encouragement and challenges for those who doubt for those who fail. May all of us find the answer to our every need in the presence of the risen Lord Jesus.
May you know the power of the risen Lord Jesus today and everyday,
Margaret
Apr 5th, 2009
Hello! Welcome to St Matthew's - it's great to have you with us today - and if you're new, I hope you feel especially welcome!
This morning (Thursday) I was in our church hall with Olivia, and plenty of other mums, dads and children for Mainly Music. Our pre-school music programme for kids and parents has been going for about a month now - and seems to be going well. There is a good mix of families and kids coming along - and all seem to be having fun. I was reminded again what a great blessing children are - and what an impact we can make in their lives by teaching them and showing them and their families God's love.
It's great that we also have a number of willing Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, and volunteers who go into our local schools, as well as all those of us who are teachers, and parents - and have a really positive influence on children in our community. Let's remember all of these people this week - especially most of them (except the parents!) enjoy a bit of a break during the school holidays. Deuteronomy 6 reminds us of the importance of teaching our children and the younger generation all that God has done in our lives and in the world. While we thank God for those who specifically teach children about Jesus, let's all of us look for opportunities during the run-up to Easter to explain to our children, friends and grandchildren something of what Easter really means - to us, and to them.
It's Palm Sunday this weekend - when we remember Jesus arriving in Jerusalem during the feast - on a humble colt - soon to be executed. Steve Copland, who is training for ordination as an Anglican minister at Ridley College in Melbourne, and is currently on placement here with us at St Matthew's, is preaching on this this morning - it's great to have you with us Steve.
As well as our Holy Communion service on Easter Sunday morning, there is also a reflective service on Good Friday at 10am in church, which Gordon and Judy Lingard are putting together.
Great to have you with us!
Andy
Mar 29th, 2009
A warm welcome to all present with us at St. Matthew’s today – at the morning or evening service or both! Our fellowship is richer for your presence here today. If there are any visitors we extend a particular welcome to you and hope you will join us for tea or coffee as we enjoy fellowship together in the hall after the services.
During these past Wednesdays at the Mid-week Communion services we have been considering the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and the Cross. On Wednesday we looked at Jesus in Gethsemane where he prayed that the cup of suffering might pass from him. His acceptance of his Father’s will assured us that when the cup was drunk and upturned there was not a drop left. He accomplished everything for our salvation. We need have no fears about having to be good enough or think we have to add anything to the saving work of Christ. Simply trust him. Let us make sure that our children and grandchildren may know the real meaning of Easter as well as enjoying their Easter Eggs!
There are a number of friends who are ill at this time, and some are in hospital please continue to pray for them and uphold them with your support and encouragement when possible. This brings me to thank you for the support by your prayers for my ministry in the women’s prison where I minister 6 days a month. It is a challenging work with opposition at times but with many unexpected blessings. Thank you for your prayers.
We have had a month of evening services and we praise God for the interest and the quality of worship at these services. If you have friends who for one reason or another cannot make morning worship, pray and encourage them to come with you to one of our evening services. At this evening’s Service Gordon Lingard will bring God’s message to us.
May the Lord bless you and give you his peace.
Margaret
Mar 22nd, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s. If you’re visiting today you are invited to make yourself known and please do stay for a cuppa after the service, in the hall. The truth is, for most of us at St Matt’s, there are two parts to Gathered Worship; the formal part in the “church” and then the informal fellowship with the church, out in the hall.
It’s Cluster Sunday again which means that we focus on the mission of our smaller church groupings; M-Pods and Clusters. To help us focus, we go without any songs on these Sundays and the other difference is that we have no organised Children’s activities as the Families Cluster usually meets at a venue outside the church buildings. (Today they’re joining the Jigsaw Pod and others in the BBQ @ Eastern Gardens).
Today I’ve been invited to speak at Stonnington Baptist Church, in Malvern, on the very topic of M-Pods & Clusters. I’ve taken Marlene Holloway, Roy Calic and Anthea McConachy with me who are all Pod-leaders and who will give first-hand testimony of how Pods & Clusters have developed and what their experiences, (both good and bad!), have been. I am grateful to them for joining with me in this ministry.
Meanwhile, those of you who are regular attenders and for whom we have a current address will have received a letter from me, (and on behalf of the Vestry & Wardens), detailing our financial position and asking in a fairly direct manner for you to respond in a special and intentional way. If you would like to discuss this with me, or our Treasurer, Dave Doig, or indeed any of the Vestry, (Jeanenne Thomas, Jo van der Schoor, Jack Black, Dianne Holbrook, Kerry Cardell, Anthea McConachy, Jill Farrell, and our newest member – Chris Gower), please feel free and welcome to do so. We are in this together.
Of course by far the most important response is to pray, pray, pray; for Financial Freedom for ourselves and our church.
Lastly today, can I please urge you, (perhaps with our finances as a focus) to participate in next Saturday’s Day of Prayer & Fasting? Please miss breakfast and lunch and then please also join us in the hall at 2pm for some focussed prayer as we gather together. I look forward to seeing you there!
God bless, Ian.
March 15th, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us this week.
We were speaking the other day about the witness to our faith that good handling of finances can make. I also mentioned that we’d been able, (through our planning and saving at Vestry level), to make a donation to Tate Street Primary School. This is what the Principal, Rob Cherry, wrote in his weekly newsletter recently:
We are so fortunate to have the support of our local Anglican Church. They do so many things for us: Breakfast Club; provide RE classes for the children; assists at events like the school carnival; and provide funds to support the camp programs and students in need.
Last Thursday I had an extremely pleasant surprise when the church Minister, Ian, arrived for a meeting with me and handed me a donation of $4,125 for the school. It is money that staff can spend in any way to benefit the students most. I must say I was and am still so delighted and grateful for this wonderful act of generosity. I’m sure you are as well. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the members of St Matthew’s Anglican Church for this fantastic gift. I can assure them that the money will be well spent indeed.
It’s been a huge privilege & pleasure for me to be the bearer of such an important gift on your behalf – and it appears that are still more opportunities. Rob is looking for other practical ways we can help. At the moment, if there were some men who could regularly give a half hour or hour to spend time with boys, (who don’t necessarily have older brothers or dads around), he would be really grateful. That sounds ideal doesn’t it? Just something an M-Pod could do or even just a loose collection of men. Would you please pray that we can provide this somehow?
God needs all kinds of people to reach all kinds of people. Young or old, male or female, God needs you to get involved with his mission to reconcile the world to himself through Jesus. All we have to do is make ourselves available and He will honour it. What is it that you can give? Time? Money? Love? Care? Skills?
It’s great to be with you in this church,
Ian.
March 8th, 2009
Welcome to St Matthews this week – it’s great to have you with us – especially if you’re here for the first time, or if you’ve been away for a while. Do make yourself known, and please join us for a hot drink after the service.
Talking of being away for a while, as a family we recently returned from holiday in Tasmania – we had a great time in very beautiful surroundings, and came back home feeling refreshed and ready to get back into life here in St Matts. It was also interesting for us to come back home from a trip away, and for ‘home’ to mean Geelong. It’s over six months that we’ve been here now, and coming ‘home’ to Geelong made us realise just how much like home it is feeling now. So thanks to all of you who have been part of making this feel like home for us!
Of course, there’s so much going on here at St Matt’s, that if you go away for two weeks, you have a lot to catch up with when you get back! Last Sunday evening saw the start of our new weekly evening service here at St Matts. Over the coming months we are hoping that this service will grow and become a home for people who are not currently part of our church community. Do mention it to friends, colleagues and family members who you think might be interested.
I jumped straight back into ‘normal’ life after our holidays, driving straight off the ferry to Geelong High School where we were able to cook lots of pancakes for the staff and teachers for their morning tea. Needless to say, this went down very well, and we continue to enjoy becoming part of that community, and discovering more ways to serve, and contribute to, the life of the school community. Please do continue to uphold all of these activities in prayer,
Yours,
Andy
March 1st, 2009
Hello and welcome to everyone worshipping with us this Weekend. If you are new to St Matt’s you are especially welcome – please do make yourself known to us if you haven’t already.
Three years ago, due to a lack of resources we had to close down our Sunday evening service but today, we are thrilled to see it reborn, so to speak! It should be another great time of gathered worship and a wonderful compliment to the morning service. With the exception of this week, the sermon will be the same as the morning’s. We anticipate it being generally shorter in length and certainly different in style but the quality and atmosphere at least as good if not better! (Shh, don’t tell any of the morning lot!)
Seriously, it’s great to be able to offer an alternative again and we trust it will be a blessing to many. Please do pray that it will be yet another means by which many will come to know Jesus Christ and follow him as their Lord and Saviour.
If you ever lose your Notice Sheet, you can always check out our website, www.stmatthews.org.au where you can also download your favourite Goodacre sermon, for instance; check dates from the church calendar; read a statement of belief (our theological position on pivotal doctrines); or find out contact and banking details. If you’re not an online kind of person you can also make a request for sermons on CD or pastoral visits via the forms at the end of each row of seats. Or, the good old telephone will also put you in touch with the office 9am-1pm each weekday and if you happen to get the answering machine (voicemail) – please use it, leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. (Messages are checked at least twice a day.)
Some of you will know that the religious season of Lent started in the past week. The reason we at St Matt’s don’t officially recognise/celebrate Lent is because it’s meant to be used as a time of special focus and devotion towards our Lord Jesus and what he did for us at Easter. “Nothing wrong with that, even commendable”, do I hear you say? Absolutely! Except, as we’ve been discovering recently, that special devotion towards Jesus is required of us everyday, not just special occasions! None the less, with more folk seeming to get on board with Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, as it now seems to be called, (the last day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday), watch out for opportunities to share something of what you know about Jesus – “the reason for this season”, as well.
God bless, Ian.
Feb 22nd, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us this week.
We find ourselves at Week 2 of our series called “Finding Financial Freedom” in which we are exploring a Godly perspective of handling our personal finances. As I mentioned last week, I always find this topic challenging personally and from a church leadership perspective but as money is mentioned over 2000 times in scripture and 2/3 of Jesus’ parables are about money; it would be remiss of us not to spend some serious time learning together on this topic.
If we were in any doubt about the state of spirituality in this country, the response to the bushfires has been very revealing. I have been spending quite a bit of time reflecting on this the last two weeks. Almost all conversations have been about or led to the bushfires. We are all witnesses to the saturation by the media and even the reaction around the world to this natural disaster.
It seems to me that even though people don’t come to church they are still spiritual enough to respond to something bigger than themselves which affects themselves and/or other people. Perhaps it’s the loss of control over our own environment which makes us realise that to focus only on our own lives is vastly inadequate.
I was speaking with an old friend of mine the other day about the spiritual response that music, drama, poetry, art, etc, evokes. I believe that God really is trying to communicate with every human sole and will do whatever it takes to get through to us. St Augustine wrote (in the fifth century AD), “the human heart is restless until it finds its rest in God”. Of course the supreme communication came in the form of Jesus of Nazareth. Showing us how to live, helping us understand God, and then finally removing all barriers between us and God, when our sins were washed away by his blood, shed on the cross.
The echoes of that self-sacrifice have been heard clearly in the last couple of weeks. Is that what we’re hearing? Is it from God? Maybe there are some opportunities to sensitively explore yours and your friends spiritual response to what we’ve all been experiencing.
God bless, Ian.
Feb 15th, 2009
Hello everyone and welcome to St Matt’s.
No doubt, like me, you’ve been much occupied this week thinking and praying about the bushfires. There have been the horrible images of so much destruction contrasted with the heart-warming response made by so many Australians. I’ve been reflecting on the compassion of God so evident amongst all humans – given half a chance to let it shine through.
The Anglican Church, like many other organisations, has been formulating their own response and a task force has been set-up to co-ordinate all that we have to offer. More details can be found on the Diocesan website: www.melbourne.anglican.com.au.
Meanwhile, Cluster Sunday is coming up next Sunday 22nd February. For those who are new to St Matt’s, Cluster Sunday happens on the fourth Sunday of each month. Its purpose is to focus our thoughts, prayers & actions towards mission of any kind, but particularly related to our Mission Pods and Clusters. The general idea is to go out from the (shortened) service and be involved somehow with mission. Alternatively it might be an opportunity to meet in your Pod for a meal to which others could be invited, etc. The options are only limited by our imagination.
We will be continuing with this strategy in 2009. The service is marked by having no music, as a kind of spiritual discipline to help our focus. In addition, there is no formal children’s ministry offered on these Sundays as the Families Cluster meets at another time and place. (See “What’s On” over the page for details).
Please do keep asking, “How can I be involved with God’s mission at St Matt’s?” In my experience, God always honours our availability and submission to His will as we follow Jesus.
God bless, Ian.
Feb 8th, 2009
Welcome to everyone worshipping with us at St Matt’s. We’re in the transformation business. By following Jesus we acknowledge that life is not necessarily easier but it is definitely better and so we also try to help others do the same.
Life is different when Jesus is Lord of your life. Our priorities are different; the way we spend our money; the way we think about other people; our career goals; the way we use our time; the way we bring up our families; who we let speak into our lives, etc.
If you’ve been part of St Matt’s for a while you’ll know and understand most of this. If you’re new to St Matt’s then a wonderful adventure of discovery and change is ahead of you.
Today I’ll be reminding us of the Vision we believe God gave to us nearly three years ago:
“By 2010, 500 missionally engaged people, following Jesus and belonging in M-Pods, Clusters & Celebrations within St Matthew’s community.”
With just over two years to go and about half-way there in terms of the number of people who would say they belong in someway to St Matt’s; it’s a good opportunity to remind ourselves of where we want to be and how we might get there.
God has blessed us with Vision, People, Structure & Finances and we are all swept up in His purposes for our church. I hope that you are all encouraged by what you hear, but more importantly by what you experience at St Matt’s. I know our people to be warm, friendly & caring and passionate about what we believe and hence whom we worship. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me, or any of the staff – we’ll be glad to help.
God bless, Ian.