How do we as Christians respond to this pandemic? During this year, I (and probably many of you) have been hearing Christian voices call us back to the language of lament. As I mentioned in my sermon on the crossing of the Red Sea two weeks ago, in relation to the rabbinic commentary on the Egyptians dead on the seashore; “As we make our way through the dark and deep and messy parts of our lives, our human history, we Read more…
Over the last couple of weeks John and I have been preaching through the Old Testament story of Exodus, the powerful saga of how, out of unbreakable love, God freed the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt, a story which dominates Jewish theology and practice, and resonates with our Christian story, of the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus which brings about our redemption as children of God. Sitting alongside these readings in the lectionary are New Read more…
Dear church Winter is over and spring has arrived! Whether you like the cold and bracing nature of winter in Canberra or not, there is something special about seeing new buds and shoots appear and grow. It always reminds me of new life – not just botanical but spiritual as well. Thanks be to the Creator for new life and renewal. “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season Read more…
Last Sunday we looked at one of those wonderful, yet challenging, body passages in the New Testament, Romans 12:1-8, which speak of how every one of us have different gifts, which spring from the grace of God which creates and love diversity, but which we are given so we can operate as one body. Our Old Testament passage, Exodus 1:8-22, served as a dramatic contract, what happens when we forget our oneness, when we seek to denigrate others, to exploit, Read more…
Dear church Last Sunday it was the turn of those with A-H surnames to be in the church for the worship service. There were 32 of us, several below the maximum allowable under our COVID Safety Plan, so the overflow room wasn’t needed. The service was live-streamed via Zoom as usual (the new normal) with 83 people joining us on their devices for worship in that way. While we followed the new health recommendations and had no congregational singing, at Read more…
It takes a long time to recover from trauma. If it is one incident, it can take from one to two years I was told by someone working with emergency response teams here in the ACT. Extended trauma may take longer. Joseph, the subject of our sermon last Sunday. had a long time to recover. Twentytwo years is the calculation of the time between when he was sold into slavery by his brothers at age 17 and when he reunited with Read more…
Dear friends Belinda’s sermon last Sunday was titled “People plus God” and was based on Matthew’s account of “the feeding of the 5,000”. The single sentence that summed it up for me was: “The resulting feeding event is the combined work of divine and human agency, people and God prepared to work together.” It is a challenging thought with far-reaching implications for how we live our lives. A copy of the sermon as well as a recording of the whole Read more…
I loved the picture of Ava’s pizza dough that she sent in to illustrate John’s sermon on Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13 last Sunday. And I hear the pizza was pretty good too! But I must confess that I – along with most of you – voted the mustard seed parable my favorite! (For those who missed it – the results were: mustard seed (21 votes), yeast (6 votes), hidden treasure (5 votes), pearl merchant (5 votes), fishing net (2 votes). Read more…
Dear friends Last Sunday Belinda preached on the story of Jacob’s dream about a ladder stretching between earth and heaven (Genesis 29:10-19a). The LORD appeared to him in that dream and promised to be with him and bless him. Belinda titled her sermon “Surely God is in this place”, based on Jacob’s exclamation when he awoke. The sermon also quoted the day’s Psalm (105): “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” The Read more…
Dear Friends, It was wonderful to have a break over the last two weeks; to have time away as a family at Culburra Beach relaxing and reading books and celebrating Grace’s 18th birthday! It was also good to hear John preach on the 5th July on those very apt words for us, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…” (Matthew 11: 28) Or, in the words of Read more…