Don’s Blog
I
am feeling a little chuffed this week as I have successfully managed to ride
for an hour every morning. No fall, no flat tires, with each morning being a
very vigorous ride. Well-done Don!!
On
Monday night we met for the UCIC Church Council and although we had some hard
decision to make one of the more exciting ones for UCIC was approval for two
new ministry placements and a replacement for myself.
The
first new ministry placement is for a person to work with those in the first
third of life (0-30 years). This for us is a very exciting venture into an area
that has been steadily growing, especially at Trinity as they now have 80-100
young people gathering at their Sunday night worship. Also of note is that both
Trinity and Wesley are slowly but surely gathering families with children.
The
second ministry placement will have a number of aspects to it, and when my colleague
Chris comes back from Long Service Leave, a group of people will be meeting to
think through the role.
The
next part of the process to progress these ministry placements, including the
position at Wesley, is to form what is called a Joint Nominating Committee,
which has the task of looking at each of the placements, determining their
position description, advertising the positions and having conversations with
applicants. If you are interested in being part of a committee I would
encourage you to contact one of the Elders.
A
really bit of good news for this week is that Rev Isobelle Shortreed has
accepted the position of ‘Supply Minister’ when I finish at Wesley. Isobelle
comes to us with a wealth of experience in both congregational ministry and
Chaplaincy. Initially, Isobelle will take over my role until my leave
technically finishes (14th August) but may stay on if a replacement
has not been found. I am very glad that Isobelle has accepted this position as
it means there will be a Minister looking after Wesley from the Sunday after I
leave. I am sure you will enjoy Isobelle’s ministry and she is certainly
looking forward to her time with Wesley.
Last
week we kicked off our publicity regarding the Lent Event. Each week until
Easter we hope to bring to you information and reflections on this theme. Also
and just reiterating, we will conduct a ‘Discussion Series’ after church each week,
lunch being provided. More information will be in the pew sheets this week and
in coming weeks, but please don’t hesitate to contact Alison, Lyn or myself to
find out more.
I
am also feeling a little excited this week as, with the help of some old Super
money, I have managed to buy a new camera. For those technically minded it is a
digital SLR, Canon 5D Mark lll. It takes pictures at a rate of 22 mega pixels
and shoots video with a full frame sensor and in Full High Definition. Needless
to say I am looking forward to using it and hopefully may be able to show some
footage in worship before I leave.
Tomorrow
morning is the ‘soft’ opening of the Warehouse Café. It is open to the public
from 7.30am and it may be a bit of a test for the Volunteers, Crossroaders and
Staff. I was over there today for a meeting and the place is buzzing with
excitement. It is such a wonderful compliment to Christine and Donald Nicholas
and to Larissa, who is the manager. If you happen to be looking for a place to
have a coffee or lunch and you are in the area, I can highly recommend it. My
meeting today was with Brother Terry Cant, who is the ‘Café Listener’ and his
main role is to appropriately listen and be with people as needs arise.
This
new UnitingCare Crossroads venture is a prime example of the church at work in
a hopeful and exciting way.
I
hope to be able to spend a couple of hours each week in the Café in my
retirement making coffees, so you will have to find out when I am rostered on
so that we can catch up.
Thanks
for reading and I look forward to seeing you soon.
From
your minister
Don
Sunday 10th
February 2013
8.30am
Discussion
group:
We continue to look at and discuss the John Dominic Crossan video ‘The
Challenge of Jesus’ This week we begin the section on ‘The Ressurection’
10.00am Morning Worship: “…
and they left everything and followed him….” Reflecting on Luke 5:1-11, Jesus calls the disciples
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