Picton & Wilton Anglican Churches

We could not believe how many people wanted to come to Church at Easter!

We had over 280 people join us across 2 Good Friday services, and around 350 people attend Easter Sunday services to celebrate Christ’s resurrection!

Praise God for such vibrant and encouraging gatherings of God’s people and pray that God continues to work powerfully among his people, transforming lives and building his Kingdom here in Picton and Wilton. Pray especially for our upcoming ‘Taste and See‘ course that many would explore the good news of Jesus and put their trust in him!

This morning (Wednesday) we sent off a team of 15 Church members to the Philippines on a Compassion Mission trip. They will meet their sponsor children and observe the work of Compassion in a few local regions of the Philippines. Pray for safety, encouragement and joyful relationship building between our Church members, the Compassion team, and the local Filipino families.

Yours in Christ,

Ben

In SRE today I asked who could remember the Memory verse we learned last week and hands shot up. One child could say the verse perfectly and a few others had a really good try. I was impressed after only one week of working on it. Sometimes we think memory verses are only for children but why? Here’s some excuses I have tried… I’m too old? I don’t have time? Or perhaps you’ve just never really thought about it. Well let me encourage you, you can be (and should be?) committing God’s Word to memory.

Kids in my SRE class are often motivated by the prize, a bouncy ball or eraser or book mark that says Jesus loves you – the bouncy balls are the most popular! But what if the reward was much greater. Focusing your mind on things above, helping you to get to know God better, reminding you of great truths that sustain you, easing your anxious thoughts, taking up space in your day and life that may otherwise be filled with mindless scrolling.

This term we have been challenged to remember John 14:6, Next term we’re studying the book of Colossians. A few of us have started to memorise Chapter 1 – why not join us 😊.

Yours in Christ,

Kate

*Picture unrelated… AI generated image of when the Picton congregation was attacked by a dinosaur (and Joan was eaten, poor Joan…)

Changed access to Wilton Anglican Church all this weekend (20-23 March). The Picton Rd / Almond St intersection will be closed from Friday night through to Monday morning. Access to Church will be via Pembroke Parade (Bingara Gorge) or Macarthur Drive and rear access to Church only on Fitzroy St. See below an explanatory letter from Sydney Water.

It’s important for all of us to have ways to relax and enjoy God’s blessings and his beautiful creation!  Rest and relaxation help us to put things in perspective, help us to rely on God not ourselves, and build resilience and the ability to cope.  Some of the things I enjoy are running, tinkering in the veggie patch and reading novels.  I recently read a novel called ‘Theo of Golden‘ about a man who learns to listen, appreciate other people and bring blessing and kindness to others.  It’s a beautiful read with genuine characters and honest Christian reflection and encouragement.  You can borrow this one from the library, (once we return it :)).
A series I read a while back and found greatly encouraging is the ‘Mitford Series‘.  These books centre on a small American Church and community and are a quirky heartwarming picture of God’s people loving each other and striving to live for Jesus.  There are 15 books in the series, and I have the first 3 if you want to borrow them.
Right now I’m reading the latest Chris Hammer book, ‘Legacy’ – a fun escape from reality Crime Fiction. What do you do to relax?  If you’re a reader, what are you reading right now?
Yours in Christ,
Ben 

*Pic above: Megs, Estelle and Jade at the Women’s Paint and Sip event last Saturday.

Easter is the best time to invite friends to Church.

Research shows that 40 percent of Australians would say yes if they were invited to church at Easter time. I’m not a betting man, but those are pretty good odds.

So why haven’t you invited someone? Is it because you don’t think its important for your friends to come to know Jesus? Is it because you’re embarrassed about Church and what they might think about it? Is it just because you’ve been busy and haven’t got around to it?

It’s OK if you’re not going to invite someone, but if you’ve been praying for them, if you care about them, if you want them to come to know Jesus, then I say stop what you’re doing right now, and send that invitation!

We’ve arranged four different activities that you can invite people too, I’m very confident that all four are going to be high quality, low cringe, and clear on the gospel: Women’s Paint and Sip, Men’s Meat and Grill, Easter Services and the Taste and See course.

You could send them the details in an sms message, or include the link to the event pages on our website, or grab a paper invite from Church and hand it to them next time you see them. There is no time like the present. And if you sent that invitation, feel free to let me know so that I can pray for your friend and for their response.

Yours in Christ,

Ben

Britt Williams here, this is for all the mums out there.

It’s so easy to spend our time wishing for someone else’s life, isn’t it? It’s so easy to compare ourselves to other mums who we assume just ‘have it together’. It’s so easy to put our hope in some future day when ‘X finally happens and I finally feel complete’. It’s so easy to buy into our culture’s obsession with optimisation – even to the point of optimising our children!

It’s so easy to lack contentment. So easy.

So where does contentment in your family come from? Do we even have contentment in our families? Questions like those often make me question and doubt myself. It recently clicked for me that the cure for discontent – is the contentment that God alone offers us.

Contentment in our families, did you know, is linked to the command not to covet – family contentment is one of the 10 commands so it must be important! We spend so much time coveting instead of being thankful for the gifts God has given us. Our families are ours, given to us by God, wonderful even in the brokenness and limitations being in this sinful world.

I myself have been encouraged and rebuked recently to slow down to find rest and gratitude in what God has given me today. I need to slow down and absorb these short days on earth and use these days with purpose and meaning. Mums, let’s pray that God will use us for his glory and that we will focus on serving him rather than looking for ways to make ourselves feel better or more comfortable or more important. God alone offers the contentment that sin falsely promises.

May God bless you with true contentment,
Britt Williams.

ps. Last week, myself and the other PWAC staff-wives (Kate and Ineke) trekked it into Sydney to hear about “Joy in Contentment” at the annual Mother’s Union Conference. This article was heavily inspired by a talk about “Contentment in our Families”.

As Jesus finishes his meal with his disciples at the end of chapter 16 he says it like it is:

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33.

This week I’ve hardly had one thing I’ve felt sufficiently prepared for – its frustrating not to be able to catch a breath and to go from one thing to another feeling like you’re not doing each thing justice. Some weeks are just like that.

I’ve been greatly comforted by two things in particular this week. One is that the secret to the fruitful Christian life is not my effort or ability, but is simply for me to remain in Jesus (John 15:5). And the second is the knowledge that whatever struggles I might face in this life, whatever troubles I might have in the ‘world’ – Jesus is stronger and he has overcome. Jesus is and will be victorious, and my job is simply to remain in him by trusting and living in obedience to him in this life and for the next.

So if you’re like me, and some weeks overwhelm you – take heart – Jesus has overcome the world!

Yours in Christ,

Ben

Today (Wednesday 18th) is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the seven week season leading up to Easter.

Lent is a season for focusing on Jesus and what he’s done for us in the lead up to our commemoration of his death and resurrection at Good Friday and Easter Day celebrations. Sometimes we might fast or deny ourselves something during Lent in order to help us focus on prayer and thanksgiving to Jesus.

As a Church this is also our biggest season of mission – we hope to hold two Women’s Evangelistic Events (a High Tea at Picton and a Paint and Sip Event at Wilton) on 14th March and a Men’s Evangelistic Event (Men’s Roast Night) on 21st March. Along with these, our Easter services are great opportunities to invite people to come and see what Jesus has done for them.

We aim to follow this up by running Wednesday night evangelistic courses during term 2 (beginning 22nd April). Please join me in praying that Jesus would be glorified by 24 non-Christians attending our Wednesday night ‘Taste and See’ course after coming along to the events surrounding Easter, and that many of them will put their trust in Jesus and be saved!

Yours in Christ,

Ben

How are you going at Praying for two friends every day who don’t know Jesus yet?
To be honest, sometimes my orange bookmark falls out of my Bible and I forget about it for a few days – but then I find it again and get back in the habit.  It’s been helpful for me to pray for these friends, and helpful for me to remember the importance of sharing Jesus with others.  This morning in our Bible study group it stood out to me, not just that Jesus is the ‘way, the truth and the life’, but also that ‘no one comes to the Father except through [him]’ (John 14:6).  That lends a real urgency to my sharing Jesus with people, because he is the only way and without him no-one can come to the Father and be saved!
This month let me encourage you to reach out to those two friends you’ve been praying for.  Invite them out for a cuppa, or over for dinner, or to go for a walk – whatever works.  Make it your aim to connect with them and get to know them.  We’re designing some opportunities surrounding Easter for you to then invite them along to Church or an event to hear more about Jesus.  We’ll let you know about those soon.
Yours in Christ,
Ben