Weekly reflections

Dear Friends, We are currently in NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme is ‘For the elders.’ On Sunday night, a group of young adults gathered in the Lounge (to finish off the chilli-con-carne from Sunday’s lunch!) and to watch a short film (38 minutes), Footprints on Our Land, about the life and legacy of Ngunnawal elder, Aunty Agnes Shea, who passed away in March this year at the extraordinary age of 91. The film comments on how significant it is Read more…

Last night my family went to see – as some of you have done – Come from Away at the Canberra Theatre, the remarkable true story of what happened in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, when 38 planes were forced to land in Canadian landscape and this town of 11,000 people accommodated 7,000 stranded passengers. It’s the second time I’ve seen the show and this time around, I had tears in my eyes from the opening number. The detail, Read more…

My great-grandfather, James Castle, came to Australia in the late 1800s looking for somewhere to use his skills as an art metal worker. One of the stories I have been told – that highlight how strange people in England thought Australia was – is about him sending a dead cicada home in a matchbox to his family, telling them this was the size of flies in this new country!  I think that story also helps to explain where my father Read more…

Following Sunday’s sermon, the following joke was shared with me. I’m told it is an original! “When God asked Abraham what sort of family he wanted to have. Abraham said, ‘I’ll have one with the Lot!’” (If you’re missing the punchline, go back and read Genesis 12:1-9!) But it reminded me of a story (I almost included in the sermon) that Jim Barr, a former minister of this church, told years ago about a friend of his, an older woman, Read more…

Winter has begun! It does seem odd that after all those cold mornings in May, winter hadn’t even officially started, but now, as of the 1 June, it has! How do you feel about winter? I have a distinct Canberra memory of driving past the avenue of trees around the Woden shopping centre, just after all the leaves had finished their glorious red and gold display and feeling a deep despondency. And yet there are other aspects of winter that Read more…

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this email contains the images, voices and/or names of deceased persons Dear Friends, Last Sunday we wrapped up our May Mission Month series by looking at ‘partnership’ – how, as Christians, we partner with each other, we partner with others (people who ‘promote peace’ as Luke 10:6 says) and – foundationally – how we partner with the Holy Spirit. We read the wonderful passage in Philippians 1:3-11 where Paul expresses, Read more…

Dear Friends, Here’s what you missed – if you weren’t at last Sunday’s church meeting! Megan Williams and I provided a comprehensive overview of the issues facing the Association now that it has redefined Baptist identity around a position on marriage. Steve Coster, Cecelia Aull, and I gave reports on the mission activity of the church, youth, families, and young adults and overall worship and pastoral care. And we decided to postpone the toilet redevelopment as we continue thinking about Read more…

What is your next step? As I mentioned on Sunday, Canberra Baptist Church, along with Baptist churches around Australia, sets aside May as May Mission Month. For us it is a time to hear more about Baptist Mission Australia, our Baptist mission agency, and Baptist World Aid, our overseas aid agency, as well as give generously (and thankfully!) to assist those that Baptist World Aid is working with in developing countries in our May Thank Offering. This will be the Read more…

I’m reading Romans. ‘Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.’ And ‘for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption.’ Read more…

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser Sunday to Sunday – 24 to 30 April 2023 Hi *|FNAME|* Well, this is my last week (for now) of sending out the Sunday-to-Sunday email. Belinda will be back next week (yah!!!). Today I’m sending one of the sections of the discussion paper that didn’t make the final cut – Yes! it was longer!! As we move into a time when we’ll be discussing the idea of discerning a new Vision for Mission, Read more…