Hot News & Humour

page update 16 Oct 2019

Once again, we are hosting a Frontier Services BBQ which is to be held on
Sunday 13th October at our church after the Worship Service.

BBQ's are held by many churches, to raise funds for the vital work of Frontier Services.

https://frontierservices.org/about/

Sometimes the ordinary things of life can take on new meaning.  Like when a person is amazed at the colour of a plant in our garden.  A plant that we just take for granted because it is so familiar we hardly take any notice of it anymore…its just ‘there’!  Then we look at the plant a little closer and start to see what others see… we can be amazed at what is ours and we had not fully appreciated.  There are many aspects of life like that.  Sometimes we all need reminders.

Recently we were able to celebrate and be part of Charli's Baptism.  It was a time of great joy for Charli, her family and for us.  Charli was very clear that she wanted to be baptized and continue to learn about and follow Jesus.  Water, words, cake, certificate, congratulations, promises, celebration and the list goes on…and each had a new meaning that day because they reflected our response to the call of God to her and to all of us this Baptism.

Receiving a special copy of the Bible	Pouring water into the Baptismal Font

Many of us might have been Baptised as babies or children where our Parents made promises.  These included to provide a Christian home for us, lead us into living the way of Jesus through the way that our home life was lived, and our connection to and involvement in the church.  When we grew to the age when we were able to make commitments for ourselves, we may have been confirmed.  This is where we make our own decisions about our relationship to Jesus and the church.  It is an opportunity for us to confirm the promises made by our parents for ourselves.  That’s part of what being a ‘confirmed member’ of the church means.

So in Baptism and confirmation we;

· receive the sign of God’s love and acceptance,

· through confession we are assured of God’s forgiveness,

· are united with Jesus and invited to share his life,

· are received as member of the Christian Church and called to serve,

· are assured of the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and renew us.

In the baptism and confirmation services, as members of the congregation we agree to assist the parents of a child who is baptised, or an older person, with their learning and living the way of Jesus. That is an honour, privilege and challenge.

Blessings, Des Parker. 

A small part of Ev's family - four generations	The special baptism cake

At a recent Congregational meeting it was decided to form two working groups to develop ideas for submission to the Church Council for consideration. The Task groups are,

Increasing connections with user groups, plus Hospitality,

Providing more for families, e.g. from playgroup and Develop more small group involvement, e.g. cell groups with a prayer focus.

Care needs to be taken to ensure that we are using the available energy, time and people power wisely and not in a way that is duplicating what already exists. The role of the task groups is not to establish or operate new groups but to develop ideas for consideration by the Church Council. If the Church Council approves of the possibility of a particular group being formed, members of the congregation will be invited to indicate if they would like to be part of such a group. If there is sufficient support, and leadership is available that group will be able to commence.

The Craft Group would like to thank all those who donated items to the yearly contribution of goods and monetary donations.  And a special thank you to the Catering Committee for their generous cheque towards the cost of sending boxes overseas.

Marg Hill presenting cheque to Lois White, coordinator of Samaritans Purse
Some of the talented Craft Group members
	William and Georgia with some of  the boxes they organised and filled for Samaritans Purse

Click photo_album_index.htm and scroll down to page 23,
for samples of earlier Samaritans Purse gifts

On Monday 2 September Bruce Weston showed photos of his low level flight over the Flinders Ranges, Lake Eyre, Uluru, Kata Juta the Musgrove Ranges with a brief description of the geology, river systems with snippets of the history of our First Nations people and European settlements at Leigh Creek, William Creek and Broken Hill.

On Monday 7 October we focused on improving our understanding of the traditional custodians of Gippsland (from this area east to the Snowy river), the Gunaikurnai people. Eric Smith and Merryl Cracknell shared their insights on Reconciliation, recognition and respect and the work of the WUC reconciliation group. Bruce Weston described how Victorian Government agencies are now working in closer partnership with traditional custodians. Recent successes include the joint management of 10 national/state parks by Parks Victoria and the Gunaikurnai land & Waters Aboriginal Corporation. This evening was well attended and we learnt more about the Gunaikurnai people, their long history and continuing connection to country.

For those interested in learning more we suggest:

· Reading Dark Emu Black Seeds (Bruce Pascoe) and Jackson’s Track

· Visiting he Gunaikurnai website

· Turning up to the WUC reconciliation group that meets every two months.

Garden Working Bee/Garden Spruce Up  Held Saturday 5th October.  
A great team made light work, working together in the church garden.

Some of the volunteers (above) taking a well earned morning tea break.
Thank you to those who provided us with morning tea and did the washing-up.

The weeds under the Silver Birches have been cleared from Big John’s Bluebell Wood by a weeding party - the flowers are really standing up proudly. Meanwhile, “Geoff”, named by the kinder kids, keeps watch over the church garden.

After worship (and after morning cuppa) it’s time to go home for lunch OR you could join with some of our congregation and enjoy lunch at the Club Hotel.

John Spargo is the man to ‘let know’ if you would like to come along, as he phones the Club Hotel to advise them of numbers.

Thank you John for being the encourager and organizer for this fellowship activity.

At the end of August, our Train Shed suffered a forced entry and was ransacked. 
Police are investigating!.

We had set targets of raising funds through grants, our own built-up funds and through the generosity of Churches/individuals in order to purchase our current premises in Pearse St, Warragul.

We thank God for the Churches/individuals who have contributed $12.500 towards our building fund.  But overall, we were approximately $90,000 short.  The Food Relief Committee has decided to move ahead with the purchase by taking out a loan for this remaining amount.  Our current monthly rent is more than the amount needed to service the loan.
We ask that you join with us in praying that God will enable us to make the purchase by 30 November 2019.

In other exciting news, we have recently expanded our Op Shop facilities into the factory unit next to our current one.  We now have "bulky" goods such as furniture for sale at very reasonable prices; selling these has significantly increased our income.  Funds raised from the Op Shop are directed back into the costs of running the Food Relief ministry.

But as with any new venture, there are challenges.  We are in need of extra volunteers, especially people who can assist us with the Op Shop and collecting/moving furniture.  Please contact us if anyone is interested in finding out how they can help.

Please give thanks to God for the way He is providing for us and pray that He will continue to provide for Food Relief as we seek to meet the needs of people who come through our doors.

Anne Pascoe

Manager, Baw Baw Food Relief

Click on this link to visit: Baw Baw Food Relief

Casserole lunch next Sunday - with prayers and medications to follow.

Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

The Minister will preach his farewell message, which will be followed by
the choir singing "I Will Break Forth Into Joy".