Merredin Uniting Church

Time has certainly passed quickly over the past couple of weeks. I didn’t get to do many of the things I planned to do in my leave, but it was a good rest nonetheless.

I did get to go on an extended 5 day motorcycle tour with the Higgins boys down to Karridale and up the coast to Perth. It was a wonderful experience and I certainly would like to do it again. In fact I so enjoyed it that when I had to go down to Perth for a Trauma Counselling course this week I rode down on my motorbike …. certainly a more economic way to travel. In fact our food on the tour cost more than our fuel.

Now the year kicks in, and we have some really good things to look forward to. We launch Alpha today (actually we launch last Sunday in Bruce Rock – a great service with nearly fifty people present, but I must admit that it was a combined churches service as well). The Alpha Course will take us through a number of Talks – which you may have heard before – on the basics tenets of the Christian Faith (see Insert)). It has had a marked impact on many people’s lives right across the world.

The service roster across the Parish also changes. We will still have a service each Sunday morning in Merredin. However the Bruce Rock Service and the Mukinbudin Service will now take place on the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 11am and the Southern Cross Service on the 1st and 4th Sunday evenings at 6.30pm. We will also have more Lay participation in the services. The restructuring is designed to allow me to spend more time with the people at each place rather than rushing off after the service.

From next Sunday evening we will also re-introduce the SNAC service in Merredin at 6pm on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month. I have felt led to focus on the deeper reality of our Christian discipleship at these services and am toying with the idea of giving the talks an overall title of “A Year of Living Dangerously”. We will look at what it means to take our faith seriously, how to develop a deep and consistent prayer life, how to read the Bible for all its worth and so on. I see it as a very practical series and as an extension to the Alpha Course which we will do in the mornings.

You will also hear this morning about LentEvent. This is a focus on mission in the Uniting Church of Australia during the Lent Season which runs from February 22nd to the 7th of April. It raises funds for distribution to a number of agencies around the world. We decided at our Parish Planning Session last year to participate in LentEvent but that the funds we raise would be used to send some of our young adults on a short term mission either with Leprosy Mission to India or with Kay Eva’s Stitches of Hope to Cambodia. We see this as a way in which our congregation (particularly the young adults) might gear into a mission mindset.

The idea is that those participating in LentEvent (hopefully everyone) will either “give up” something during Lent, or fast on a particular day(s) each week and contribute the money thus saved into a Parish Mission Fund. There are “money boxes” available in the foyer and tear off contribution envelopes attached to the LentEvent brochures. If each person saved just $10 per week ($60 in the six weeks of Lent) we could easily raise over $3500.

Each service before and during Lent will include some input about the LentEvent. Normally LentEvent also involves a Reflection Journal – if you would like one, we can order them; but the Newsletter will include a summary of the Reflections for the week anyway. Think about it – Lent is less than 3 weeks away.

Muckaround kicks off again next Friday (February 10th). Please offer your help to Lisa Arthur if you can. NB Congratulations to Lisa on being awarded Citizen of the Year on Australia Day. Ride for Life is also gearing up for a new season (needing to build a shed); speak to Kevin Tengvall if you can help.

The holidays have not been without incident and the need for prayer:

Marjorie Maloney had a serious fall and had to be taken to hospital in Perth where she had to undergo surgery to her arm. With her weak lungs, the anaesthetic is always an issue for her. After the operation she suffered complications and was not expected to survive the night. Much prayer was offered and she is on the mend, though still very serious. She has been moved to the Palliative Care section at Osborne Park Hospital.

Val Hooper had an initial successful operation but complications set in, she had to undergo further surgery which led to serious infection. She is on the mend with nursing care at their home in Dawesville..

Cathy Jolly broke her ankle and may be seen limping around the place in her usual good spirit.

The Arthur family were bereaved following the death of Dood Arthur (Kim’s Dad) in Kellerberrin while they were in Albany on holiday. The funeral took place in the Merredin Church on Thursday.

George and Val Tengvall finally got moved to their new home. Still lots of sorting out to do but the future is beginning to look clear again.

Kevin Tengvall had a hernia repair and has been on light duty. He now needs to have a hip replacement and he needs to build a shed for Ride for Life!

There may be other situations of which I am not aware … please lift them to the Lord in your prayers.

God bless you all

David

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