Newsletters

Welcome to Emmanuel Uniting Church where we are Real People with Relevant Faith for Our Community.

We hope you’re enjoying your experience as we Celebrate Christmas and begin the journey into 2019. If Christmas is about meeting Jesus; the rest of the year is about learning about him (and from him) how to live best in relationship to each other and to God.

We’d love to join us anytime either at our Sunday worship services or other groups and activities during the week. (We are going to take some rest over January and so our normal activities won’t resume until February).

But in the meantime, please make contact via our website or app – we’d love to hear from you and to help in any way we can.

God bless you all this Christmas and into the New Year, Ian.

Office Closure and Refurbishment

December/January is a time of rest for everyone. During this time our Ministry team will also be taking some time to rest.

Jess - 27th December and returning 10th January

Helen - 27th December and returning 14th January

Ian - 11th January and returning 25th January

Dom - SMADD 7th January - 12th January

During this time if you require pastoral care assistance if you could please contact Bronwyn Kelly on 3354 4961. For other urgent matters please contact Ian on mobile from 26th Dec - 10th January.

The office will also be refurbished over January. This will affect our day to day routine and essentially mean the office will be closed until the 17th January.

Merry Christmas to everyone reading this our last newsletter for the year!

Last week I witnessed one of the most gracious, generous and loving acts of kindness I’ve ever seen. Our very own Jess Pinkerton attended to the needs of two men who came seeking help from Community Helping Hand. They came on the wrong day and out of hours.

They were looking for food but they were in a very poor state in terms of their own health and personal hygiene. They were apparently homeless, looked a bit scary and did smell very badly. They were babbling what sounded largely like nonsense to me & Jess, (I was there for moral support) and we couldn’t do much more than listen.

One man’s feet and ankles were so swollen that he had to wear thongs because shoes would no longer fit on his feet. As a consequence he had badly stubbed his little toe which was bleeding and looked terrible. Jess and I eventually decided we should offer some kind of cleaning – perhaps a shower – but the man said “no, just my feet please”.

As Jess rolled up his trouser legs, we discovered enormous ulcers on both legs which were deep, surrounded by dead skin and had some very grubby bandages on. On one leg the two ulcers were about the size of my fist in width. On the other leg the ulcer was even bigger: as large as my palm and fingers. And they smelled, and it was horrible.

But Jess put on her gloves and bathed his feet and legs; carefully wiped away some of the dead skin and put some decent bandages on. While she was doing this he fell asleep in the chair, right there. His mate had meanwhile gone to sit down on the bench under our church porch and had also fallen asleep.

We learned afterwards from the police that probably they were coming down from an “Ice high” which was why they couldn’t stay awake. There’s a lot more that could be said about this episode but the main point I wanted to highlight was the very practical way Jess found to be “good news” to those men. Sometimes the gospel is not complicated, even if it is difficult.

It seems fitting at Christmas, when we recall God getting his own hands dirty, as it were, to come and live amongst us as Jesus. Next year we’ll be “Digging into Discipleship” and one of things we’ll learn over and again is the need to find a living (if not perfect) example of what it means to follow Jesus. Good on you Jess, for showing us the way!

God bless you all this Christmas and into the New Year, Ian.

Welcome to everyone reading this newsletter. This is our month! Our church is named Emmanuel which we know means God with Us and in this season of advent we celebrate not only His presence amongst us as a man, 2000 years ago, nor only His presence amongst us now, by His Spirit, but his future presence amongst us as King of the universe! God is with us and this is the month to really think hard about what difference that makes to us and how to communicate that difference to others.

To help us with that we have three special events, as you know. Our Community Christmas Carols, on Dec 23rd, will be an extravaganza of fun, food and carols interspersed with a re-telling of the Christmas story. Invite your friends, family and neighbours – especially if they don’t normally go to church – they’re going to love it and we’ll have a really good time together.

The Carols will be led by Dom and the worship team but we will also have two specially assembled choirs, one from our Sudanese brothers and sisters and another from our own congregation. (If you’d like to be part of that choir, please meet with Mel Herron and the others in the meeting room at 11am this Sunday).

We’ll also have a dance performance from our Holiday Club led by Jess Pinkerton (what a great job she did with the all-age message last week!) which is happening on 20th & 21st December for Primary-aged children. Get your kids registered as soon as possible and invite your friends’ kid too. All our events are designed with people who don’t normally attend church in our minds – so they are suitable for everyone. If you can volunteer for those two days we really need you to sign up ASAP also so that we can make room for even more children!

Lastly, but by no means least, will be our Christmas Day Service on (would you believe) 25th December. After all the buzz and excitement it will be good to start our Christmas Day celebrations with a slightly quieter service and pray our way into a day that fully honours and sets the tone for one of the holiest days in our calendar. It is a day to rejoice, reflect and respond and will also be an outstanding time to bring someone with you who wouldn’t otherwise come. It’s about belonging to the God who is always with us, no matter the day or the season. It can be a lonely day but it doesn’t have to be! Come, bring your friends and introduce them Jesus and his people.

God bless, Ian.

Welcome to everyone reading this newsletter. It is hard to believe we’re just five weeks out from our Community Christmas Carols event to be held on Sunday 23rd December from 5-8pm, with Sausage Sizzle, Bouncy Castle, Face Painting, etc., preceding Carols at 6:45pm. (Remember this will be the only service that day and replaces our Christmas Eve service), so services over the Christmas period will be:

Sunday 23rd Dec - Community Carols 5-8pm

Tuesday 25th Dec - Christmas Day – 8am

Sunday 30th Dec, 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th January - combined service at EPAC, 9:30am

As you can see the school have very kindly offered us the use of their air-conditioned Performing Arts Centre again for which we will no doubt be very grateful.

Thank you to everyone who was able to contribute to the consultation process. After an exhausting program the task now lies before the Church Council to discern any considerations and/or actions that should now be initiated. Please pray for us as we meet Monday night, 19th November.

If you liked the idea of a 15 minute interview to share your thoughts, I’d also love to offer that to anyone at anytime (subject to diary restrictions – please make appointments through the office). Please feel free to visit me at my office or I can certainly come to your home or even meet somewhere for coffee.

Speaking of the office, Helen’s partition wall went in on Wednesday so you will now notice a significant difference when you arrive at the offices but you are assured of the usual friendly welcome from Helen and the rest of the staff. I am very grateful for Helen’s “ad-ministry” amongst us – she is very much the oil that makes the machine work. Please do always include her in your prayers for the ministry team – she is our “frontline minister” and critical to so much of our mission and ministry.

I’ve also just confirmed that the painting of the offices will commence on 7th January with the carpet to follow. That means I’d be thrilled if a few folk could help me shift furniture on Thursday 3rd and/or Friday 4th January – I’ll even shout you some Subway for lunch!

Lastly today, I’d love you to join me out at Samford Valley Community Church next Saturday 24th November from 9-12. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association are providing some free training in sharing your faith naturally. Please let Helen know during office hours if you can make it. I know we’ve been busy but this training will set you up nicely for inviting people to our Carols and other events!

God bless, Ian.

Welcome to everyone reading this newsletter. As you’re reading this we have just commenced our consultation period. We welcome Carolyn Kitto amongst us – she is no stranger having been involved with us before in a similar capacity and her findings directly and indirectly contributed to the employment of Dom, Jess and me!

If you haven’t already got involved this time, here are some ways you can still contribute:

1. Pray, and keep praying! For clarity in review and courage in planning.

2. Stay for lunch after the service TODAY, Sunday 4th November.

3. Set up a time for an individual interview with Carolyn via the office (during office hours) – there are still times available.

4. Come to the consultation especially for 8:00-ers; Tuesday 6th at 9:30am (morning tea to follow)

5. Participate in the planning workshops next Saturday 10th November (2 x 1hr session available – please book via the office)

6. Worship in Celebration next Sunday 11th, either at 8am or 9:30am, and hear some preliminary findings and challenges for the future.

The kinds of questions Carolyn will be asking us are:

· Where are we as a church?

· Where should we be heading?

· What gifts am I contributing to the church?

· What ministry am I receiving from the church?

Alongside all this is our desire to be a church where Missional Discipleship is at our core. At the heart of Missional Discipleship are those three sets of relationships which Jesus expressed: “Up” with our Heavenly Father, (Passionate Spirituality); “In” with other disciples, (Radical Community); “Out” with those who don’t know Jesus yet (Missionary Zeal). [Score yourself out of 10 for each of those three . . . try not to use 5!]

We are grateful to Trinity for putting on the event with Sam Chan which over 20 of us attended. Next on the agenda is training in preparation for the Franklin Graham Tour and the event happening at Riverstage on 18th February next year. Samford Valley Community Church are hosting some training which will equip us better with our “Out” by exploring how to tell Our story of faith in the context of God’s big story intersecting with their story of life and belief. You will find this invaluable, especially if you’re finding it hard to get the right words out at the right time with the right people. And funnily enough it begins with listening. Let’s see if we can get at least another 20 folk ready to go the next step. It’s on Saturday 24th November from 9-12. Please indicate your intentions to attend via the office.

God bless,

Ian.

Welcome to everyone reading this newsletter. This is the last one for October – where has the year gone?

We’ve had a fantastic take-up of the Sam Chan seminar at Trinity College on "Things I wish I knew when telling my friends about Jesus..." coming up on 1st November. Twenty-one people are booked in (and it’s not too late if you haven’t booked yet).

And in another boost to our evangelistic efforts, we registered our church to be part of the Franklin Graham tour which is happening next year. The event will be held at Riverstage on February 18th at 7.30pm. Franklin is Billy’s son and I have been involved with his ministry previously and can assure you of an event well worth inviting your People of Peace to. In preparation for the event there will be Christian Life and Witness (CLW) training available – more skills in talking to your People of Peace about Jesus. Remember a Person of Peace (based on Luke 10:5-7) is someone who: likes you; listens to you; helps you. Samford Valley Community Church is hosting a CLW training session on Saturday 24th November from 9am-12noon to which we have been warmly invited. Please let Helen know via email or during office hours of your willingness to participate.

Meanwhile we only have a couple of weeks to go until our Congregational Consultation with Carolyn Kitto. If you would like a one-on-one interview with Carolyn please let Helen Smith in the office know ASAP so we can schedule you in. The staff have begun a formal process of review using a tool called “360° review” and we would value your prayers as we not only consider the whole of church life but our particular roles in it and our styles too. This is a vulnerable time but a valuable time for encouragement and growth. And do keep our whole church in your prayers for this important time.

Lastly, can I encourage you, if you aren’t already, to begin praying for whom you might invite to our Community Carols on December 23rd? It promises to be a great night of fun and singing, (of course), along with a re-telling of the Christmas story.

God bless, Ian.

Welcome to Everyone and a special welcome to our good friend Paul Jones (from Trinity College) who will be preaching today on two very familiar parables, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, which I will be following up on with next week’s sermon on the Lost Son.

As always, there are follow-up questions contained inside this newsletter which should help you: dig a little deeper; and think about how to apply what you learn and make some life-transforming decisions!

We have two significant events coming up in the last quarter of the year. Chronologically, we have the “Life & Witness Consultation” taking place from 2nd – 11th November. This is a larger consultation than usual with Carolyn Kitto facilitating review and planning as we prepare to move further into the discipleship/mission quadrant. This will be preceded by our upcoming combined service on 21st October, (followed by congregational meeting which we will use to introduce and pray for the themes of the consultation). Please put this dates in your diary as markers and be prepared to be interviewed and otherwise engaged in workshops and training. It’s my first one so I’m looking forward to seeing how it all works and have high expectations for setting directions for the next 4-5years.

In addition, I had a meeting last week with a working group of people who are helping me create a Community Christmas Carols event for this year. At our last Church Council meeting we agreed to hold this event on Sunday 23rd December in place of our usual Christmas Eve service. So that means our Christmas services for this year will be:

Sunday 23rd December, 5-8pm – Community Christmas Carols

Tuesday 25th December, 8am – Christmas Service

The idea behind the Community Christmas Carols is to invite a number of choirs from our church and wider community to lead us in a carol-singing service preceded by a sausage sizzle and fun activities for families (Bouncy Castle, etc). The Carols will begin at about 6:45pm. We will start small this year and, God-willing, look to expand in coming years. This will be an ideal event to invite friends and family who don’t normally come to our church. We are expecting about 300 people to attend! Please pray for the organisation and good attendance of this event.

Meanwhile, in the next month, you can expect to see a structural change in the administration area. This was approved sometime ago by Church Council but we are now not far off having a partition wall (part solid, part glass) built in front of our reception desk which will include a lockable door, a service window and ledge (for writing forms etc). After that we may be looking for some volunteers to paint . . .

God bless, Ian.

Welcome to everyone reading this Newsletter. It’s great to be part of Emmanuel and we’re glad that you are part of our “extended family on mission” too!

We’ve just had another really good hard rubbish collection experience! We got rid of heaps of stuff and almost all of it was taken by people putting it to good use. AND we got to recycle a piece of furniture from someone else’s pile which we’re now putting to good use too.

Did you know there are other forms of recycling which can help in our outreach to others?

Our most precious commodity (some would say) is time and the use of our time is something we have to manage carefully. Sometimes people say to me, “I’d love to get involved in ministry/mission in some way but I have no spare time!” We’ve all been there.

But what if we were able to recycle time? “What?” I hear you say, “How can we use time again?” Well, maybe the phrase “upcycling” is more appropriate. Here’s what I mean:

There are loads of activities we do every day, every week, every month, even every year. We do them over and over and over again. And usually with the same people (or on our own).

But how can that work for mission and ministry? (I acknowledge that some people need time by themselves so you don’t have do this with every activity . . . ) If I’m going to the movies, I try to think of someone else who might like to come. If I’m going to watch the footy on TV (whatever code) maybe there’s someone else who can come around and watch it with me – or maybe go to the local pub and watch it with a bunch of different folks.

This one is my absolute favourite though. I eat meals two to three times a day (at least!) I’m always going to be eating seven days a week. That’s 14-21 opportunities to share a meal with someone: you don’t know very well; you’d like to get to know better; you need to talk through an issue with; get advice from; try a new cafe with; you get the idea. And here’s the thing – they’re going to need to be eating all those times too so it’s not like you’re wasting your time or theirs either!

It’s an easy way to extend the “family” – what if we each tried to find just one of those 21 opportunities each week to include someone else? Might we change our little bit of the world? Maybe . . . how many times do we read of Jesus sharing a meal . . . just saying . . .

God bless, Ian.

Welcome to everyone reading this Newsletter.

I’ve just come from a visitor’s night at Girls Brigade where Fathers, Uncles, Grandads or other special males were invited to help make a crazy golf course which we then later did our best to conquer. What a great night and wonderful to see the culture of inviting visitors to our activities developing in our next generation! I hope there’ll be many more events and special services that we can feel confident to invite our family, friends and especially people who don’t yet know Jesus to. Plans are underway for one such event at Christmas – stay tuned for more details!

To help us in this task, Trinity College is hosting a night with Dr Sam Chan on Thursday 1st November on the topic, “Things I wish I knew when telling my friends about Jesus”. Please let me know if you are interested in going as we can get a group discount with 5 or more people. Their next open night is also coming up fast this Monday night 10th September, 7-9pm.

We had to very interesting conversations on Tuesday with regards to same gender marriage. A total of about 35 people attended and most people who attended felt able to express their feelings and opinions. Some of our Elders were able to be there and they will feedback into the next stage which is that our Church Council will now make a decision about whether to allow such marriages to take place in our buildings at Emmanuel. We expect to meet on Monday 17th and would value your prayers for that occasion.

Speaking of prayers, I came across this article in Eternity Magazine (online) 28th August, 2018, on how to pray for our new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, who is a practising, Pentecostal Christian . I commend it to you not just for the Prime Minister but for all our parliamentary representatives.

10 Things to pray for our Prime Minister

- Do pray for him, rather than preach at him.

- Do see his appointment as a responsibility, rather than claiming him as your right.

- Do encourage him, rather than instruct him.

- Do ask God for his blessing and protection on his family, rather than being only committed to his support for yours.

- Do realise that his responsibility is to govern for all Australians, not just those of your denomination or expression of faith.

- Do seek his peace, rather than have a piece of him.

- Do attempt to understand the pressures of the office, rather than add pressure on him from your office.

- Do intercede for God’s agenda to operate through him, rather than push your agenda to him.

- Do use your social media influence to build up, rather than “grand stand” or point scoring to your mates.

And most of all …

Every AM pray for your PM!

God bless, Ian.