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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.

 

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!

Encouraging one another – a life of discipleship

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A warm welcome back if you have been on holidays and as always welcome to our guests. We have prayed you are blessed and may that continue as you return to daily routines , school pickups and pack lunches, after school clubs and so on!

One of the challenges facing us and many church communities is how can we encourage one another in a life of being Jesus disciples if we don’t meet up regularly?

For some of you coming more than once or twice a month on a Sunday is difficult. We continue to trial different formats at 10 and thank you for feedback on the past two weeks changed format as Godly Play has been on Sabbath rest! I am wondering about continuing the Wednesday evening meal  for anyone who wants come along, with small groups following after.

Some of you are not in our mid week small groups for various reasons. So how can we support and encourage you in your life of discipleship. Let me know as I want each person involved with St Nick’s blessed, growing in their sense of belonging to a loving community, engaging with their trust in Jesus and working that out in daily life. It’s difficult to do that alone. It’s hard to live out the ‘one another sayings’ of scripture  in isolation!

If you want to know what we are thinking about then don’t forget you can listen to sermons from our website www.stnicholasaustralind.org.au/sermon    last month there were a good number of people downloading and listening to sermons which is great. Not because we think we have the best teaching rather it means we are thinking and praying about the same challenges in following Jesus. E.g. Why mention hell, Jesus? June 25th Rewards ? July 2nd The harvest is plentiful June 18th.  

It’s never been easier to find helpful bible reading / study/ devotionals online for our smartphones. I am recommending Nicky Gumbel’s Bible in One Year which works well. There are three readings per day which may be too much, in which case do one. The format is simple i.e.  an introduction, a bible reading and then a short commentary by Nicky followed by a short suggested prayer. Try it or something similar and experience a ‘little daily bread ‘in your spiritual diet! The app link is here https://www.bibleinoneyear.org/

However the Christian life is generally lived in community. Currently we have 61 people linked into our current and new small groups that meet mid week . This is not including the lovely gatherings of Thursday Craft group or monthly Care and Share.  

Let’s encourage one another in our walk with Jesus and  bless one another in community. Let’s be disciples making disciples.

Shalom

Jamie

Our Father in heaven

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We are now in our season of Easter, an exciting time leading to Pentecost and the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.  During this time we are holding our Alpha Courses beginning on Wednesday 26th April @6pm and Friday 28th April @9.30am.  People can register by email (stnicholasminster@gmail.com) or by filling out the registration form and placing in the box near the entrance of the church.  Also during this Easter time, following on from the prayer course we will be joining the Diocese in praying the Lord’s Prayer in the form of prayer stations. This Sunday you will notice the first of our stations – ‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name’.  This is an invitation for you to connect with God as the perfect father.  At this station, I invite you to sit before the portrait and images and consider what it means for God to be the perfect Father.  The Lord’s Prayer invites us to speak directly to God as Father, and we are invited to be a part of His family.

Yours in Christ

Karen

 

"Meet the Team" – Verity

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Verity Murray

This week we talk to Verity as part of our meet the team series.
 
Q1  What are your roles/ministry here at St Nicholas?
 
Currently I am one of the leaders of the children’s ministry at our 10.00 service and I help lead the Nourish women’s group.  I am looking forward to helping out at Little Lambs again this year.

Q2  What other ministry have you undertaken in the past?

 
I have been involved in leading small groups of all shapes and sizes over the years – for children, youth, women or both men and women.  I have also organised and led training and mentoring programmes for other small group leaders.  I have also led children’s groups of various ages, from 0-3s right up to teens.

Q3  Do you remember when you became a Christian? 

 
I was brought up in a Christian family and have attended church all my life.  I was fourteen years old when I made my own personal decision to become a Christian and ask Jesus to become my Lord and Saviour.

Q4  What helps you daily with your walk with Jesus?

 
I use a daily scripture reading called ‘Daily Light’, and I love prayer walking along the Estuary.  Being a member of a small group is also vital for me as it gives me the opportunity to talk and pray with others about my faith.

Q5  Favourite Hymn or worship song

 
I have too many to pick out a favourite.  Currently I love anything by the Northern Irish worship band Rend Collective.

Q6  Any last thoughts? (favourite scripture…what are you reading at the moment?…interesting fact about your self?)

 
I have been a Christian for 32 years (you can work out my age now!)  and God has proved himself faithful to me and my family time and again over the years.  I am very thankful to him for his love and care.  I am also very grateful for all the Christian friends and family I have had the privilege of walking alongside in my Christian journey.  These relationships are so precious to me.  Thank you to everyone at St Nick’s who have welcomed me and my family and made us part of your church family.

A Celebration of 50 years ordained Ministry

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This coming Wednesday we celebrate with Father Brian Newing and his wife Judith 50 years of ordained ministry.  Father Brian’s faith journey has seen him as a Parish Priest in country towns around WA from Ravensthorpe to Pinjarra, to Corrigin and Brunswick.  During this time in 1974 he was made Canon of St Boniface Cathedral.  From 1990 to 2000 he held the position of Residential Archdeacon and Administrator and then became the Dean of St Boniface for 3 years.  This amazing journey into ordained ministry began in 1966 on the 21st December when Fr Brian was ordained by Bishop Ralph Hawkins.  The past 13 years has seen Fr Brian undertaking Prison ministry in his ‘Semi Retirement’.

Wednesday won’t be the first time the services of Fr Brian have been celebrated.  In 1999 he was awarded Bunbury’s Citizen of the Year and in 2008 he was awarded the prestigious Order of Australia Medal for his work in the Anglican Church and the community. 

To give you an insight into Fr Brian here are his answers to the following questions.

What has been one of the most significant changes you have seen in the Church over the last 50 years?

Well the most obvious one is the ordination of women however there have been some other significant changes I’ve seen.  In the past you were sent to a parish at the discretion of the Bishop and you went. Now the priests have a say about where they are feeling called.  Another interesting change has been the advent of clergy wives having a profession they are the unsung heroes of many parishes.  The other thing I have noticed has been the change in the ‘loyalty’ of congregations.  What I mean is that there is more transition with people attending different churches when their needs change.

What helps you daily with your walk with Jesus?

Knowing that Jesus is an intimate friend.  He is involved in all my decision making he is the perfect role model I stride to but often fail to follow. Also knowing his perfect act of mercy and forgiveness.  I always say I have a Christian Faith not a Christian religion.

How about the future? What have you got planned next?

I think I will continue to do what I’m doing one day at a time!  I will continue my work with alcoholics anonymous and narcotic’s anonymous they are really important to me and I have been involved with them for the last 38 years.

Favourite hymn or worship song?

How Great Thou Art and Here I am Lord.

Any last thoughts?

I want to end by giving my undying gratitude to my wonderful wife Judith of 49 years.

Courage in the power of His Spirit

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There have been 2 distinct times in my ‘short’ (39 years) life where I have experienced grief.  Why am I going to tell you these very personal things?

  1. Because you are my church family and I want to belong, trust and share my life with you and
  2. I need to testify to the power of God and the Holy Spirit – make known his deeds among the nation

My first real taste of grief came with the loss of a baby.  I had left a very active role in my church to follow my husband on a new adventure – one which didn’t involve church.  We had been trying for 3 years to have a baby so to find I was pregnant was a great joy.

I eventually miscarried.  I was told and I told myself ‘it’s just biology, these things happen’, but the pain was still very real.  I felt lost, despair, anger…I distinctly remember throwing my laptop across a room.  While I had family and friends I had no church and felt so distant from the God I needed comfort from – I was drowning.

Within 2 months I was pregnant again with the beautiful boy you see in church today.  After the birth a real need to return to church weighed heavy on my heart and so I returned.  The Busselton Uniting Church was a wonderful place.  It had a strong christian community where my son learnt to crawl and walk among the pews and people.

Two and a half years later my second taste of grief came in the end of my marriage.  It felt like the world I new and loved had been ripped apart.  While I was devastated, this time I walked through the storm with a sense of calm and peace which I can only attribute to the Holy Spirit.  It was only by God’s grace I could forgive – and no broken laptops this time.  It is because of his strength and power that with in 3 months I had moved towns, bought a house, and found a new church family, but that in itself is another testimony.

I know the difference that God can make in our lives with how we deal with the storms that come.  Without Him I drown, with Him I can rise above it.  The Lord God is my strength and my might, He and He through you has become my salvation.

Most loving God, you send us into the world you love.  Give us Grace to go thankfully and with courage in the power of your Spirit – Amen

Your sister in Christ

Karen

What the St Nicholas Op Shop means to me

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As a child we didn’t have Op shops where we lived, so on holidays to Melbourne one highlight was to visit the local ‘Opportunity Shop’ where our hard earned spending money went so much further! For years I had my felt doll ‘Ipana’, named after her beautifully stitched teeth, and my sister had ‘Dollar Wednesday’- no explanation needed! I didn’t realise then, but I have now realised what a blessing these shops are to the community.

A few years ago I felt it was my season to be able to do some work for the church and our community. Monday is my day off from teaching so with the understanding of the Op shop staff I was put on sorting fortnightly.  As possibly the youngest staff member, this definitely brought some challenges. For example I’m aware of some different brands to our other helpers, so when I see a pair of Mossimo jeans (which usually retail for over $200 a pair) I think “Awesome, put these on the rack” not “Those jeans have a tear, bin them”

We are so fortunate and blessed that our community are so giving. There is always so much to be sorted, and as a result our shop is only stocked with quality goods.

Due to the excess items we are able to help even further than our immediate area with Seafarers Mission, Women’s Refuge, the Prison and to the needy overseas.

A personal bonus of working at the Op shop is that it has given me the chance to find things for my classrooms and to wear myself!! I have found that this has actually had a positive reaction at school. I’m never embarrassed to say where my clothes come from, and as a result, my students now know if they comment on my outfit, the response more often or not is “from my favourite shop”, to which they respond with “Oh, the Australind Op shop”. I believe this has actually helped take the stigma away for some families who don’t have a choice but to buy preloved clothes as my students have gone home and asked their parents to take them to our Op shop to have a look!!

The Op shop is not just a place to buy a bargain.

It can be a place where people come feeling a bit low, find someone prepared to listen to them, and leave feeling better.

I love volunteering in the shop and chatting with customers.  I love helping them to locate what they are hoping to find. I strongly urge anyone to volunteer their time to the Op shop (especially some younger people) as it is very rewarding.

Shani Kaitani

What does it mean to you?

Our Church Framework – Belong

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The next part of our framework for community is Belong.  We experience a sense of growing Belonging in God’s family through small groups, Sunday gatherings and many social and service opportunities.  We want to invite people into our lives together as they explore trust in Jesus.  We recognise this is a process for all of us.

The Good News is that through Jesus, God invites each person to be reconciled to Him and to be adopted into His family.  In His family we share new relationships with others.  We want to welcome all who are interested in exploring this Good News.