Belong

Alpha: Kat’s Testimony

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Kat’s Testimony

Alpha, 2018

When I first started Alpha I was very sceptical about everything: God, Jesus and Christianity as a whole. I was very set in the way of that in order to believe, I had to have hard evidence. I had to see it to believe it. I also desperately wanted to have an experience like I felt that everyone else was.

Alpha for me was one of the best experiences I ever had. I met people with similar questions to me and felt like I was not alone but part of a family. Being part of Alpha completely changed me and doing it in a group was wonderful because we had different questions and different views.

On Alpha I found my own path and started my own personal journey. I gave my life to Jesus and since then have started the most wonderful journey with God. I was blessed with a real experience with the Holy Spirit. My life changed for the better and I just know now, how real God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are and am so grateful they are in my life.

I truly recommend this course for anyone with question and who wants to develop a better relationship with our Lord. Alpha for me was the first stepping stone into my own personal journey with God and Jesus.

Opportunities in Your Church

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Belonging at St Nic’s

At St Nic’s we love and follow Jesus and so love and serve one another in kindness. Kindness originally links to the notion of kindred, a family relationship. This is expressed practically as the church body lives out its life together.

We are the Body of Christ 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, serving in our homes, at work and at play. This calling is more than just gathering on a Sunday. We express being kind to one another by offering lifts, sharing meals, praying for one another, shopping for those in need, and alerting our pastoral care team to more specific needs. It can also mean serving in a more formal role within the Church community.

Sunday Services

  • Welcomers: Welcoming guests and regular members on arrival with distribution of newsletter and assistance as required.
  • Children’s Ministry: Godly Play has roles for Storytellers and Doorpersons (see Karen D.)
  • Eucharist Assistants: help prepare for Eucharist and assist in serving during the service and cleaning utensils afterwards.
  • Sound: setting up and running appropriate sound for the various services we offer (see Alf H.)
  • Overheads: running the visuals on the overheads for the service (see Dannielle B.)
  • Worship: vocals, keyboard, guitar, drums, or possibly another musical talent not listed?
  • Readers: for reading the various readings during the service
  • Intercessions: leading our public prayers
  • Preaching and teaching: this requires training towards Licensed Lay Minister status.
  • Hospitality: Ensuring the availability of beverages and biscuits, assisting with cleaning up afterwards.

Blessing & Outreach

  • Op Shop volunteer (see Judy B.)
  • Little Lambs volunteer (see Barbara G.)
  • Lending Library (see Jan C.)
  • Wednesdays Dinners (see Verity M. or Kate H.)
  • Nourish Kids (see Carli K.): providing childcare for the Nourish Women’s group is an incredible blessing to the mums who attend and study God’s word together.
  • Parish Council: nominations will open in October for our 2019 Parish Council.
  • Mission Secretary: we are still in need of someone who is called to this position.
  • Alpha and other courses such as Boundaries: prayer for those who attend, and for Holy Spirit led invitations to people beyond our church community. Provision of hospitality or as a small group leader.

Small Groups Ministry

  • involvement in small groups
  • leading small groups: this requires discussion and oversight from the parish priest.
  • youth ministry: soon we will have a real need for a youth ministry to nurture and grow the faith of our older children.

General Operations

  • administration/ volunteering in the office (see Sophie P. or Ian C.)
  • assist our Site Management Team with maintenance and repairs of the church buildings and grounds, including the Historic Church (see Tony W.)

As a community we want to celebrate and acknowledge those who serve in these roles. By listing them here we can pray specifically for those areas in our church. If there is an area that interests you or you feel called into serving please speak to Rev Jamie or a team member.

Adapted from Opportunities in Your Church by St Nicholas Minster.

 

God-incidences

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Last month, I had a phone call from my specialist; I was due for an annual check-up. It just so happened there was an appointment available at 8.30 the very next morning. After the test, I was talking to the young specialist – he was new, I hadn’t seen him before.

He asked me what I did for a living and I told him I was a retired Anglican priest. “Is that like in a church?” he asked. “Yes” I said, “in the Anglican church”. He asked me how I got into a job like that and I explained that it wasn’t a standard career option that was discussed at school; that for me it was a realization later in life that God was calling me to ordained ministry. He got that! “Ah, so it’s like a vocation,” he said.

He continued, “Does that mean you found Jesus? A friend of mine found Jesus and his life turned around.” I asked him what that meant. He told me that his friend was severely depressed and on his birthday he had decided to commit suicide. He then had an experience of feeling at one with the world. From that day, my specialist told me, his friend started to live a healthier life, lost a lot of weight and wanted to find out more about what his experience meant. I asked how his friend was doing that and he told me that he was using the internet and reading the Bible. I told him about St Nicholas and Alpha and how important it is to find out more about Jesus in a safe group setting. I gave him the St Nic’s website address.

As a Christian I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe in God-incidences. God puts people in our way for a reason. I encourage you to reflect on the ‘coincidences’ in your life. Could they be ‘God-incidences?’ How are we being asked to be ‘salt and light’ for others? Perhaps you might like to reflect on Matthew 5:13-16.

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

We are so blessed with the vibrant community at St Nic’s. We can have confidence to invite people to deepen their faith with our community whether that is through prayer or worship, Wednesday dinners, bible studies or group discussions.

Let us pray (adapted from David Adam Complete themed intercessions)

Lord God, help us to be aware of the God-incidences in our lives.
Teach us to walk in your way and to rejoice in your truth.
We ask your blessing on all in this parish that we may be salt and light for others.
We pray for all who are new to the faith
and all who are growing in a deeper awareness of your presence.
May we all know that wherever we go and whatever happens
you are with us and ready to lead us. Amen.

by Carol Reid

St Nic’s Snapshot: Ploughman’s Lunch for Camp Quality

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Last week St Nic’s hosted the Ploughman’s Lunch for Camp Quality. Rob and Trudy Tuckey with the help of Ian and Fran Craig treated guests to a delicious selection of soups and desserts. 

I have been involved with Wescarpade (Fundraising for Camp Quality for 6 years and have raised over 120k) All the funds raised goes to Camp Quality to be used for the Kids, their sibling’s and their families. We support the whole family.

Wescarpade is a wacky outback motoring adventure that is the celebration of a year’s hard work raising funds for the charity. The cars are themed up to appeal to the kids (Santa’s workshop, Superman, Where’s Wally M & M’s, Bob The Builder just to name a few).

Each entrant (Car) has to raise a minimum of $5000 and this is done in a multitude of ways.

This year’s event is from Mandurah to Busselton: via Quindanning, Lake Grace, Jurien Bay, Mount Barker, Manjimup, Donnybrook and finally Busselton. The event runs from Aug 4th to Aug 12th and the expense of the event (fuel, repairs, accommodation, food, alcohol and fines) are the responsibility of participants. It’s a fun week with likeminded people raising coin for a great charity.

Rob Tuckey

 

St Nicholas Craft Group: The Biggest Morning Tea

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Last Thursday, St Nicholas’s Craft Group joined thousands of others in hosting the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea. Over $920 was raised to help the fight against cancer!

Sixty-five members of our local community joined in to support the cause. The Australind Bridge Club provided a welcome boost to the overall amount with their generous donations.

“People seemed to enjoy themselves, the donations of cakes and savouries was excellent as usual,” said organiser Fran Craig. “We do it to help people with cancer, everybody that you speak to knows somebody who has suffered from cancer in some form or other. It’s all around us. It’s a cause close to our hearts, many of our parishioners have lost someone. Cancer does not discriminate.”

Special thanks to Stephen & Julie Lucas from Australind Post Office & Gifts and Rob Bertolli from Terry White Chemmart for their generous gifts for the door prize and raffle. Lucky attendees Val, Betty, Lois, Robyn, Pat, Judy & Geoff won the raffle spot prizes and Beryl scored the door prize.

Rev Jamie assisted with the raffle and Father Brian gave an inspiring address, “Never be negative, always be positive… with your small contribution we are all part of the ultimate solution.”

This year is the 6th year the Craft Group have hosted the event. If anyone would like to join the Craft Group you are most welcome Thursdays 10am- 12noon at the church. Bring your project and enjoy a cuppa and fellowship.

My First Alpha Evening: “The chocolate was an added bonus.”

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The comments above were made by participants of the Alpha course, after attending the first session at St Nicholas last week.

Alpha is an introduction to the Christian Faith. It is for those on the fringes of faith or who are not really sure what they believe. It’s also a great refresher course for anyone who’s been a Christian for a while but would like to learn more. Alpha provides an opportunity to explore some of the big questions of life. A typical evening involves food, a video presentation, and a group discussion.

Each week focuses on a different question. The topic for discussion for the first evening was ‘Who is Jesus?’ Some of the questions we will be exploring in the next few weeks are: Why did Jesus die? How can I have faith? Why and how do I pray?

It’s not too late to join us! If your curiosity has been stirred, please do contact the office via the website, or come along to the Wednesday dinner at the church building at 5.45pm followed by the Alpha course at 6.45pm. You will be very welcome!

By Verity Murray

Wednesday Dinners – Friends, Food & Community

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We have recently started up Wednesday dinners as St Nic’s. It is basically a bunch of people of all ages and walks of life turning up to share a meal together. It is on every Wednesday at St Nic’s church from 5.45pm.

Each week a team of willing volunteers organise, cook a delicious meal and then clean up afterwards, allowing everyone else to simply come along and be blessed. We have been averaging anywhere between 28-47 (recently 33 adults and 14 kids) people including kids!

It has become a platform to build into the existing community of St Nic’s, providing a beautiful bridge between the generations and building upon friendships, both old and new. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to bring friends or neighbours along to meet new people in a relaxed environment, enjoy a meal together and chat about life or even just the weather! In addition to these things, we would also welcome anyone who might just benefit from the blessing of a meal, free of charge.

There is something special about sharing a meal together and belonging in community. We find many accounts in the Bible that revolve around mealtimes. It is both practical in terms of meeting one of our most basic of human needs, but it also meets our spiritual and emotional needs through friendship and fellowship. Our conversations are being blessed each week as we discover more about each other; our pasts and how we have come to be where we are today, our joys and struggles in the now, and our hopes and dreams for the future.

I really feel like the key word in all of this is community; helping to build a sense of authentic community in our church fellowship, whilst also providing an arm of outreach into our broader community. This whole concept is all very new and will evolve with time. I love being involved with it, and am excited about how God may shape this in the future. I am also incredibly thankful to those of you who have helped to get this off the ground.

If you would like more information about Wednesday dinners or becoming involved with serving on a team once a month, please speak with me (Kate) or use the Contact Us form.

Lastly, I encourage you to join us! Hope to see you there,
Blessings, Kate Hollis

Little Lambs Playgroup: Somewhere to belong and be blessed

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The new year is well and truly underway! Little Lambs has continued to thrive as a beautiful outreach for local families to attend with their children.

A wonderful community gathers together on a weekly basis, to connect and gain valuable friendships and support. We have mothers, fathers, grandparents and friends enjoying belonging to our playgroup. Little Lambs provides a safe place for babies and toddlers to learn, play and grow with an array of toys (including a bouncing castle, which is a firm favourite!).

This term we’ve shared water play together as well as fun in the sand, lots of dressing up and playing kitchens!

We are blessed to have a dedicated team of wonderful volunteers. They provide morning tea: fruit for the children and cappuccinos or hot chocolate as a delicious treat for the adults! We welcome gold coin donations and please remember to bring a bag for the free bread we have whenever possible.

Little Lambs meets weekly, during term from 10am-12pm on Tuesdays. We would love you to join us!

Do you know how to give your life fully to God?

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This Sunday is a combined service as we are going to be gathering afterwards for our Annual Meeting of Parishioners. If you are a voting parishioner and did not vote last week please make it a priority immediately after the service. Voting must be completed before the start of the AMP which is scheduled for 10:45 am

One of the items for prayer in our monthly Focus has been that people would discover their purpose and sense of place within our community and beyond. The teachings of the bible make it clear that as we follow Jesus individually we do so in community. Communities function like a body, different parts with differing roles and yet working together for a greater expression of life in all its fullness. This life is one of seasons and so we pick up and lay down differing roles within the community as we travel together. That is healthy and allows for rest and restoration as well as fresh energy for new challenges.

I am grateful that so many of you offer yourselves in differing forms of service. Our AMP report gives a flavor of this. As we consider our new Parish Council it is worth noting with thanks the contributions of those who have served over the past year. Trevor, Margaret, Kerry, Chris and Ian are not nominating for council this year and so we thank you for all that you brought in 2017. Debbie, Joe, Alf, Cathie and Suzanne thank you for last year and being willing to nominate for this year.

We took time on October 29th to go through our Vision for the next season with a number of speakers contributing and explaining what is happening.  Most of this stands. We covered Anglican governance including the new statutory guidance; Mission Action Planning and published our review; reflected again on the centrality of prayer to everything we are doing-seeking God’s face-we heard about Godly Play and the possibility of developing our community life on Wednesday evenings.

Closely related to seeking God’s face, we are called to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and from that heart give ourselves fully to God’s purposes for our lives. Will you do so this year? Do you know how to discern this? Come and talk to me if you are unsure.

Shalom

Jamie

How will you follow Jesus in 2018?

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As we prepare to begin another year it is a good time to reflect. I am asking some  questions . What kind of community are we going to be? What kind of community does God see us becoming?

We are a gathered community of people who meet on Sundays and in small groups through the week. We are gathered because of Jesus and many of us would say we are His disciples. How then should we live? How do we follow Him?  How do we love one another well? What does that look like? How do we handle conflict well? What does it mean to be people walking in step with His Spirit?

We have articulated some thoughts on this already:

We are a community growing in being a blessing. We understand that God has so richly blessed us and invites us to offer blessing wherever we find ourselves.

We understand that belonging to a community is good for all of us as God says many times in scripture and secular psychologists now articulate clearly. Belonging allows for blessings to flow in many directions.

What we believe about ourselves influences our actions ( Behave) I am loved by God therefore I don’t have to perform to win his approval, for example. I work from grace not work for grace.

As we live this out day by day we are becoming, God willing, the human God intended and the community that brings Him glory.

Are you someone determined to follow Jesus in 2018 in this community? I am.

Shalom Jamie