Weekly reflections

Well, the results are in for the Canberra Baptist Church ‘Songs for the Journey’ playlist’! 500 miles by The Proclaimers was mentioned in a few breakout rooms – one of my personal favorites! And with the proximity to Anzac Day we had a few wartime songs: Coming in on a wing and prayer, Pack up your troubles, and It’s a long way to Tipperary. There were a few nostalgic entries; The Carnival is over and Morningtown Ride by The Seekers, I love to go Read more…

Greetings everyone. Last Sunday morning I commenced my sermon with a riddle – “When is a door not a door?” I invited anyone with an answer to write it on a sheet of paper and hold it up at the end. There were so many who held up “When it’s ajar” that we didn’t have time to spotlight them all. There were also some very creative responses including “ADORE”, an actual jar, and the following virtual background from Zach. The Read more…

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!  It was wonderful last weekend to gather – over Zoom – with a congregation meeting in different homes and different states (and even different countries) to remember again the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – that within our darkest night God’s powerful love has kindled a fire that never dies away. Attached is a picture of the flowers on the communion table on Easter Sunday – with the Christ candle and other Read more…

Dear Friends,   It is interesting what we can do and what we can’t do during this Covid 19 emergency. Our family can’t drive to Sydney for a special meal to celebrate my brother’s birthday this week, but we are having a 40 minute Zoom conversation with our four households – each week – bringing us closer than we have been in years! As a church we cannot at the present time hold services in our buildings, but we can Read more…

Dear Friends, What a week this has been! Last Sunday we were trialing Zoom church and this Sunday it has become our only option! Also, in the course of this week, all church programmes and Community Centre activities have ceased to be physical gatherings and gone on hold or on line, and John, Cecelia and myself are now all working from home. And so many Australians – friends and relatives and some members of our congregation – have faced even greater turmoil. Its not Read more…

Dear Friends  The following statement is part of a helpful email distributed to Churches this week by Steve Bartlett, the Director of Ministries for the Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT.  With the Covid19 virus present in our communities and the projections for how it will spread in coming days, weeks and months, we find ourselves in extraordinary times.  It is easy during a time of crisis to grasp for control and certainty. As followers of Jesus, how can we live differently in what is a time of Read more…

Dear Friends What a difference water makes! Kristine and I were in Wellington (NSW) for 18 months while I did an Intentional Interim at the Baptist Church. The region had already been in a prolonged drought when we arrived, and it continued during our whole time there. Farmers and businesses were struggling. When we left just before last Christmas, many paddocks were just dust and the landscape was an ugly brown. With Burrendong Dam at 1.5% capacity and severe water Read more…

Dear Friends   It was a journey that Jesus had undertaken a number of times before. There was inherent excitement and expectation in heading off from Galilee for the capital, especially with the prospect of worshiping at the Temple. It was even more exhilarating to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival, joining the crowds of other pilgrims on the way. Jesus had made that pilgrimage with his parents when he was 12 years old. It had been a formative Read more…

Dear Friends   Today is the first Sunday of Lent. In some traditions it is called Quadragesima, the Latin term for fortieth. Lent commences on Ash Wednesday and extends up to Easter Sunday (40 days, excluding Sundays). It is a time of preparation for Easter in a similar way that Advent is a time of preparation for Christmas. However, Lent is characterised more by prayer, self-examination, repentance, fasting and spiritual renewal. In recent centuries, the idea of giving up something Read more…