Sep 20 2009
Pastors notes
May the Lord truly bless you as you meet together this morning – and this afternoon at the Nursing Home. And thank you to all those participating in the services.
Margie and I are in Perth for the annual WA Presbytery/Synod meeting. I am not very clued up on the business of the Synod Meeting yet but I hope to make acquaintance with my colleague ministers. We will be staying with Margie’s sister in Mandurah and sharing lifts with the folk from the Mandurah Church. The other representatives from our Parish are Matthew Smith (Merredin), Heather Hutton (Bruce Rock) and Gordon Jones (Mukinbudin).
It is really good to have all our furniture (almost) unpacked at the Manse. Its really beginning to feel like home now. Please remember that you have an open invitation to visit, especially as we now have more than the four cups we started off with.
You may have noticed the JAAL – “Jesus. All About Life” notice in the Newsletter over the last few weeks. This is a major advertising campaign by the Bible Society to bring the name of Jesus into the mind of Australians. Associated with this is the opportunity for local churches to invite friends to attend church with them. The program began in the Eastern States earlier this month and is set to launch in WA next Sunday. At Merredin we will have a JAAL banner on display outside the church. I will also be using the opportunity to share the good news about Jesus from the pulpit. Next week I pose the question, “Who is Jesus?” I encourage you to think about your own answer to that question and to use the GodTalk time in the service next week to share your answer.
For me the two Scriptures for next Sunday say it all – the powerful declaration in Hebrews, that Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being”; and then Peter’s declaration at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus is the Son of the living God. Each time we have been to Israel I have made a point of going to Banias where there are caves and temples to the god Pan. This was the place where Jesus asked the question, “Who do the people say that I am, and who do you say that I am?” And I imagine the confused people going in and out of those temples and caves and the disciples wondering why Jesus should have brought them there to the source of the Jordan River at the foot of Mount Hermon to ask them that question. But it was relevant, for not only is Jesus the source of life, but He is also the One who makes sense in a confused world.
Next Sunday the Mukinbudin service will be held out at Eaglestone Rock near Lake Brown on Cornish Road at 11.15am followed by a picnic. They have invited folk from Muka to join them through an advert in the Muka Matters and, of course, the whole Parish is also invited to come along. It is their usual Communion Sunday so we will be sharing Communion as well. Please do join us.
On October 4th which is the Nungarin Harvest Day and Mangowine Concert, Fr Stan from the Roman Catholic Church and I will be sharing a service for the Blessing of the Harvester. It’s actually a bit early to do that but the community are wanting to use the opportunity afforded by the other festivities to get people connected. The service is at 10am.
For the rest of the Parish we intend to have a Harvest Festival Service on November 8th at the Merredin, Mukinbudin and Southern Cross services. The ministers in the area decided that each church should celebrate the service in their own congregations but on the same day. Again this is a great opportunity for you to invite friends to the services and to encourage folk to seek God’s blessing as the harvest begins. Of course there is another greater harvest which Jesus spoke about at the Well of Samaria when He invited His disciples to look out at the crowd coming out to them from the Samaritan village – “Look, the fields are ripe for the harvest!” This harvest will come from those whom you invite to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
And then finally …. The Sing Australia organization will be in Perth in November and will be touring through the country areas of WA. They have requested to worship at Merredin Uniting Church on November 15th and to contribute to the worship through song. Because there will be 77 of them attending the elders and I have decided to use the opportunity to invite the other churches in town and also to look for a large venue where we could have a combined community service. More details to follow. This will be a really exciting celebration!!!
And now may the joy and peace of the Lord be with you all.
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