May 23 2010
Pastor’s notes
Margie and I have the weekend off, though we will be attending events in Perth. I had a Ministers Supervision Meeting on Thursday with Rev Dr Ian Tozer and others, and on Saturday we attended the “Exploring the Ministry Day”. Part of the reason for the latter was to familiarize myself with the process into ministry in the UCA, and also to investigate options for my son-in-law who has felt called into the ministry. So this morning Steve Higgins and his Dad will share the pulpit in both Merredin and Mukinbudin. May the Lord bless you as you minister to us in His Name.
I was also supposed to be one of the Spiritual Directors on the Walk to Emmaus in Perth this weekend but it was cancelled at short notice. There were unfortunately too few people enrolled. I have been part of the Emmaus movement for several years and I really want to encourage you to consider joining. Basically it begins with a “pilgrim” weekend which you attend. The weekend consists of a lot of discipleship teaching and worship opportunities. In essence it is a short course on Christianity. But the beginning “pilgrim” weekend really is just a beginning. You never attend the Walk to Emmaus as a pilgrim again but you are encouraged to be part of the “team” who run future weekends. Through participation as a teacher, or a carer, or hands on stuff like cooking and other practical things, you learn a great deal about being a servant Christian. Every Emmaus pilgrim enters a “Fourth Day” after the pilgrim weekend. The Fourth Day signifies the role that every Christian needs to play out as a consequence of the Resurrection. There is an amazing simple logic to the Walk to Emmaus movement (which obviously takes its cue from the two disciples who walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus with Jesus but who failed to recognize Him at first). It not only teaches the basics of the Christian Faith but encourages each person to put that into practice. It teaches servanthood and leadership, empathy and understanding and so much more. Many people think that it is just about the Pilgrim weekend. Nothing could be further from the truth. Continued involvement leads to continued growth as a Christian. In fact, every single person on Angus Buchan’s team which organizes the Mighty Men’s Conferences was a regular in the Emmaus Community to which I belonged in South Africa. And much of the “success” of those conferences stems from what they learned about being a practical Christian through the Walk to Emmaus movement. I have been invited to be one of the Spiritual Directors at the September weekend of the Great Southern Community in Kattaning. Both Steve Higgins and Sal Marais will also be on the team. If you would like at attend this 72 hour event then speak to one of us.
Next Sunday we have a young Iraqi man who is coming to share the testimony of his conversion from Islam to Christianity. While he is a very new convert, he is utterly committed to his new faith.
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