I am so thankful to Anne C who has taken on the role of coordinating our prayer as a church.  We want to be a church that prays because:

Firstly God has enabled us to relate to him and grow in trust in him through praying.

And Secondly, we recognise we can do nothing without God's help. 

Prayer is a wonderful ministry that we all can be involved in.   And in our church we have the opportunity to pray in different ways.

On Sundays, someone leads us from up front.  As we pray along with them we are reminded again of some important things to pray for as Christians

In Small groups, there is an opportunity to pray with others.  Here is a great opportunity to pray for each other.  Anne will also keep our small groups informed about what to pray for outside their circles.

And of course, I get to pray by myself.  But my prayers which reflect God's heart, will always have a direction to his church and the brothers and sisters to whom I belong through faith in Christ.

Anne's weekly newsletters will be simple and different every week.   Each week she is going to get us praying for different ministries.  The idea is that the list won't be too long, but over the month we will get an opportunity to pray for all that is happening.

I am thankful to God for Anne who will resource us as Christians and as a church, to be a praying people.  And this will be to God's glory in the building of our Church.

Let's Pray,

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

There is something special about this time of year. The cool, crisp mornings. The gloriously sunny days. The scent of smoke lingering in the air. Its the appearance of these things that herald the approach of Day Camp for another year.

The smell of a campfire transports me back to childhood, where, as an exuberant young girl, I would arrive on the first morning of Day Camp with barely contained excitement. A week filled with adventure, toasted marshmallows, charcoaled sausages, semi-cooked damper, and my faviourite Day Camp songs. I can still remember my group leaders from camp all the way through Primary school! I have such fond memories of my Day Camp years. 

Since its inception all those years ago (1991 to be exact), well over a thousand children have come along for the adventure of Day Camp. We now have second-generation Day Campers coming along, whose parents so fondly remember their own Day Camp experiences and are eager for their kids to experience it too.  

While I think the bush and roaming in Gods creation is certainly a draw card, its the connections we form with the kids over those 4 days that leave a lasting impression. More and more the world is trying to silence the message of hope that we have to share. Its not often are we afforded such an opportunity to connect with kids, openly share with them the Gospel message, and show them what it means to follow Jesus.  

During Day Camp we plant seeds. Seeds that God may choose to begin growing immediately, or seeds that may lay dormant for many years. But those connections, relationships and positive memories forged during Day Camp can last a lifetime! It is my prayer that the work we do over those 4 chilly days in July may make it easier for someone to approach church and find Jesus. Now, or 20 years from now. 

As we plan for Day Camp 2023, I urge you to consider how you can contribute to growing connections, planting seeds, and helping in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. Maybe as a leader, maybe as an assistant, maybe at main camp. Maybe helping with set up, baking cakes, or being there as a smiling face on the Friday Concert, or Day Camp Sunday. In whatever capacity, we all have a role to play in this ministry and in supporting our core mission of bringing people to Jesus. 

Last week Dave and I had the opportunity to join a thousand other ministers at the Reach Australia conference. It is a conference aimed at helping and encouraging each other to keep first things first: the gospel. It was a great opportunity to reflect on our countrys great need for Jesus and how churches like ours are essential to meeting this need.

The week consisted of sitting under good bible teaching, looking at how we might organise ourselves and churches to be more effective at reaching the lost, and hearing how the gospel is bearing fruit in many churches across our country.

Something encouraging that I came away with was a reminder that God works through his church. What gives our ministries the power to bring new life and transformation into the lives of people is the God who is at work to fulfill his mission. God uses his word and his people to make and grow disciples. Jesus is building his kingdom today.

One of the talks given reflected on 1 Corinthians 15:58.

 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

Because we know where all things are heading, because we know Jesus is building his church, and because we know that what we do has eternal significance, we can give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord in confidence that what we give is not meaningless or wasted.

As I reflect on these things, I am so thankful to be part of a church filled with gospel centred ministry across many ages and demographics of our parish. But I also see the many thousands amongst us that need forgiveness that only Jesus can give. And we have the words of life where forgiveness is found.

Lets keep first things first, and labour in the Lord together.  

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:12-13

To those who gave birth this year to their first childwe celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running awaywe mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We dont mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood we are better for having you in our midst
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year we grieve and rejoice with you
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising we anticipate with you
This Mothers Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. 

We remember you.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15

I am really looking forward to Anglicare Sunday this week.  Anglicare are an amazing organisation that partner with us in caring for those who are doing it a bit tough.  They partner with us in 2 ways:

1. They resource us to care for people in our community.

        a. Through expert advice

        b. Training

        c. Practical resources as needed

2.  They share the love of Christ at a professional  level with well trained people.  This is something we could not do without being taken from the gospel work at hand.  They do this through:

        a. Aged care facilities and provisions

        b. Advocacy work look up their website and read some of the research they have done in affordable housing and the impact it has particularly on older women.

        c. Counselling

I love how Anglicare desire to work in partnership with our church and we can only be better for it as share the love of Christ together. 

This Sunday Rev Michael Aitken (partnership development officer for the Northern Region) will be speaking from Isaiah 58:1-14 looking at how our care is, More than Food, but life to the full.

We also have the privilege of having Stephen Kuo (partnership development officer for the Western Region) who will speak to us more on the opportunities we have in our partnership with Anglicare.  I hope you can join us for what will be a very encouraging Sunday.