Category: newsletter (Page 1 of 18)

Everyone needs to know Jesus and receive life in his name. And God has a plan for how they will come to know him. Do you know what that plan is?

You.

You, God’s people, are God’s plan and method for sharing the good news of Jesus with the world. That’s why we’re launching our ‘Prayers for 2’ strategy.

Because God is the one who saves people, and because he does it through the efforts of his people in relationship, the best place to start is prayer.

Prayer calls upon God to be at work by his Holy Spirit in the lives of our friends, and a habit of prayer motivates and mobilises us to depend on God, to be aware of our friends need for Jesus and seek opportunities to share the good news with them.

Our goal as a Church is to have at least 60 of us praying daily for 2 of our friends who don’t yet know Jesus and have life in Christ.

So grab a ‘prayers for 2’ bookmark at Church and begin praying!

Yours in Christ,

Ben

It was so great to get together on Monday evening to eat together, sing God’s praises and pray together, young and old and everyone in between (see photo).  We also had the privilege of a video link up with our link missionaries in the Middle East which was so encouraging.  God is powerfully at work across the globe by his Spirit bringing people to salvation through Jesus Christ and growing and maturing his people in love and faithfulness.
This Sunday and next we start our new sermon series on the book of Zechariah in the lead up to Christmas.  You might like to read through the book of Zechariah this week and write down all the questions you have and the things you notice.  It’s a confusing book, I certainly have lots of questions!
I’m also excited to be launching our Prayers for 2 focus again and handing out bookmarks this Sunday to encourage you to pray for two friends who don’t know Jesus yet every day.  
Yours in Christ,
Ben

Your time is precious. Invest it wisely.

In a month of several funerals and also beginning to read a book about Ecclesiastes*, the brevity of life has been at the fore of my mind.

So, you who fully expect to have many fruitful years ahead of you, what will you invest your time in? Jesus says in John 6 that we often pursue temporary pleasures like a good meal or entertainment, whereas he offers food that endures to eternal life (John 6:27). Jesus encourages us to invest in what lasts – to believe in him and invest in his kingdom. Jesus doesn’t neglect our daily needs, he appreciates good food and experiences along with the rest of us – but he helps us to put them in perspective.

Let me tell you about a few opportunities that I believe might be wise investments for you:

1. Come and join us to pray together on Monday 12th October for a sausage sizzle, prayer, and video link with our link missionaries.

2. Join us at our Youth and Kids Leaders Training night on 16th Oct to be equipped to invest in the next generation of Jesus’ disciples.

3. Join the Establish Group on Wednesday nights this term and be helped to develop healthy habits of personal prayer and Bible reading.

You can’t do all of these, you might not be able to do any of them, that’s OK – you need to make wise decisions with your time. But let me encourage you to prayerfully consider them.

Yours in Christ,

Ben

*Kate put me onto this book called ‘Everything is Never Enough’ by Bobby Jamieson – and its brilliant so far! (the pic is part of the cover for this book)

At Synod (The governing body for the Sydney Anglican Diocese) we joined with hundreds of people to deliberate with a shared concern for the salvation of the lost and the honour of the Lord Jesus. During debates and motions, Synod members treated each other with respect and courtesy, expressing unity in the ministry of the Good News of Jesus with people of all ages and backgrounds across Sydney. We want all people to know that God values them, as shown by sending His Son for their sake.

A Vision for the Lost

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel addressed this year’s Synod, reminding us that “People matter to God” because we are made in His image. He shared several inspiring stories of individuals who have come to faith, vividly illustrating God’s active work among us.

Ministry & Mission Initiatives

• Youth Ministry: The Synod agreed to affirm youth ministry and encourage its development across the diocese. It was encouraging to learn that the growing number of youth under Christian ministry in the Sydney Diocese reflects a broader trend across Western nations.
• Chaplaincy: The Synod noted and encouraged Anglicans to support the work of the Australian Anglican Chaplains network.
• Aboriginal Ministry: Synod gave thanks to God for the growth of indigenous churches and leaders in the Diocese. Our churches are encouraged to pray that God will raise up future leaders of Indigenous ministries in this diocese and throughout Australia.

Diocesan Growth & Property Strategy

There is significant growth in gospel opportunities across the Diocese, accompanied by a very substantial challenge to plant new churches in rapidly expanding communities. We were encouraged by the announcement and celebration of several new and re-established parishes.

Our Parish is experiencing similar growth to the rest of Sydney; we also had opportunities to mutually share our vision for the parish with Sydney Anglican Property staff. Additionally, the Synod discussed how we can collaborate more effectively to support churches and parishes caring for heritage-listed buildings.

Synod also encouraged the Standing Committee to temper the constant growth of administrative load on Ministry staff, Wardens and Parish Councils. 

Regional Partnerships & Leadership

• Bathurst Diocese: The Synod celebrated our ongoing multi-year partnership with the Bathurst Diocese. By working together, Bathurst has experienced remarkable growth—including a significant increase in Bible study groups. It has been a true pleasure to partner with them in the work of the Lord.
• Wollongong Bishop Appointment: The Synod expressed deep gratitude for the appointment of the Rev. Jonathan Squire as the next Bishop of the Wollongong Region. The Synod assured Jonathan and his wife, Jenny, of its prayers as they leave their church of over 20 years to begin this new ministry.

Cultural Issues

• Freedom of Speech: Synod received a number of reports related to diocesan Submissions to the relevant government bodies warning of potentially unintended curtailments of Christian faith and ministry.
• Jewish Australians:  The Synod rejected antisemitism in all its forms and received with humility the apostolic warning to Gentiles not to “consider yourself to be superior” (Rom 11:18). We will be formally invited to gather and pray for Jewish people in the Diocese and for ministry amongst them (3 April and 16 October 2027)
• Rights of Children: The Synod encouraged member churches to keep standing up for the lives of mothers and their unborn children. Synod also deplores the commodification of children and the exploitation of vulnerable women, whether in Australia or overseas, and so calls on the Commonwealth and State Parliament to definitively reject commercial surrogacy.

Moving Forward

As we look ahead, our churches were encouraged to continue ministry rooted in God’s word, to pray faithfully for new believers, and to ensure our existing congregations are filled with “disciple-making disciples.”

In Christ,
Milton and Geoff (your Synod reps, along with Ben).

Have you heard of Women Together, which meets in the Wilton Church Hall each Monday during the school term, from 12 noon to 2.30pm?

Women Together is an informal, friendly and welcoming group where women can chat, craft, enjoy fellowship and support one another. Some of us are regulars, while others pop in occasionally — everyone is welcome!

We begin with an optional BYO lunch, followed by a short encouragement and prayer, then an activity. We generally pack up around 2pm.

Our favourite crafts are those that support others, such as making dolls for the Christmas Shoeboxes and cards and gifts for the Retirement Ministry team to distribute. We have tried many different crafts and are always happy to learn from others who have a particular skill or creative talent to share!

Last week, we enjoyed a fun Australian-themed lunch — including “sanga sambos”, Vegemite and pavlova — to welcome Beatrice to our congregation from Tanzania. After hearing about Beatrice’s prayerful journey to join us, we enjoyed an interesting “show and tell” from Ann Mac about her ministry in the NT and Queensland, reminding us of God’s faithfulness, even when His timing can take longer than we expect.

Next term, we will be creating diamond-dot Christmas decorations. The cost is $10 per term, or $1 per day, to cover materials.

We reconvene on 19 October — come along and join us, ladies!

In Christ,
Karna

Have you seen ‘The Chosen‘ series? If not, I’m here to highly recommend it! It’s a series that follows the life and ministry of Jesus. Episodes often helpfully ‘flashback’ to Old Testament stories or prophecies to set the scene for what is recorded in the Gospels. 
While there will be times where a careful Bible reader may question some of the interpretations or representation of events – on the whole, the viewer is presented with a rich, helpful and biblical portrayal of Jesus and his time on earth among his followers, his enemies, the crowds and historically detailed settings. 
Where I might normally ‘binge-watch’ a series, I have found myself walking through this one in measured steps. Mainly because it’s so rich, so significant, and so moving. My understanding of Jesus and his love for me, and consequently my love for him, has been so deepened by this series, that I have been stalling watching Season 5. It has become clear (though obviously no plot spoiler here!) that he is nearing his death on the cross – and I find myself not wanting to lose him! Of course, I know all is not lost – but this series helps the viewer enter into what it must have been like for his disciples – and indeed, feeling all the more the fact that Jesus was God come to earth in the flesh, for our salvation.
In case you want to view it and don’t have paid access to ‘Prime’ to stream it, you will be delighted to know that it all 5 Seasons currently released, are now in the Wollondilly Library in the DVD loan section. Season 6 will be released in November this year – and Season 7 (final) in 2027. I suggested them for purchase* – and they went ahead and purchased them.
So, let’s inundate the library with loans and reservations of the series!
Yours in Christ,
Sharon (Picton 9am member)
* Apparently, I am one of the few library members that makes use of this service. Any book or DVD that has been published in the last 2 years can be suggested as a library purchase. They have funds set aside for this – so it’s great to make use of them!

We don’t pass the plate around at Church anymore…  We haven’t since COVID actually.  I don’t know that we’ll ever go back.  But I think we’re missing out on something important.
Hearing some friends come back from Tanzania and talk about people giving chickens and produce to be auctioned off because they didn’t have cash to give, made me think about this a bit.
Our goal as a Church is to help people find Life in Christ.  The gospel is free, no strings attached.  Everyone who turns to trust in Jesus will be saved.  We don’t have to be good enough, well enough behaved, religious enough and we certainly don’t have to give enough dollars in order to be saved. 
We operate on the principle of anonymity.  I don’t know who gives what and that helps me love everyone and treat everyone just the same.  The good thing about hardly ever talking about money is that no-one can accuse us of just wanting their cash.
But when giving is invisible then we miss out on being encouraged by the generosity of others.  We miss out on the shared tangible experience and modelling of giving.  We miss that moment in Church of collecting people’s giving and then praying a prayer of thanksgiving to God for it.  It’s similar to the way never handling cash makes it tricky to manage how much you have and how much is left in your wallet.  
Of course, the Church still has plenty of bills to pay too.  In case you were wondering there is no money from the government*.  There is no magic funding from ‘central office’.  All the expenses of our Church are funded by the generosity of our members.  And we as a Church seek to be generous too: generous to the link missionaries we support; generous to our community by providing services to them like community pantry and events like Carols.
So maybe we should talk about money a bit more often, so that we might all have the opportunity to learn to be generous with all that God has given us.  What do you think?
Yours in Him,
Ben
*The government does provide significant tax breaks for Churches, in recognition of the public good Churches bring to our society.
NB: Our Church is in a healthy financial situation thanks to the generosity of our members, this is not an appeal – just a genuine reflection on the invisibility of generosity in our Church and what we might be missing.
NB2: My chicken (pictured) is not for sale.

The love of Christ motivates us to see ourselves and the world around us differently. 
Jesus has reconciled us to our heavenly Father, dying on the cross so that our sins would not be counted against us anymore.  Therefore, we don’t need to see ourselves or others by worldly categories like riches, strength, popularity, beauty or goodness.  We don’t have to worry about whether we ‘measure up’ before God or before others.  If we are ‘in Christ’ we are a new creation: forgiven, reconciled, loved and adopted children of God and heirs of eternal life!  We are declared righteous before God because of Christ, and we are being made new by the Holy Spirit.
What a relief and freedom this is!  What a joy to be in Christ!  And what a privilege and opportunity we have as God’s people to share with others this good news.  We have been entrusted with this ministry of reconciliation, calling others to put their trust in Christ and be reconciled to God.
(2 Corinthians 5:14-21)
Yours in Him,
Ben

“The music is too loud”, “these songs are so old and boring”, “the sermon went for too long”, “we need something more challenging”, “I can’t believe she lets her kids get away with doing that in Church”, “somebody needs to say something about that behaviour”, 
It’s very easy to see Church from a ‘worldly point of view’ and think only about what we can get out of it.  But Christ’s love compels us to see things differently, to see everything differently.  What matters isn’t the style of music or getting my needs met, but reconciling the world to God in Christ.  Isn’t it incredible to be part of the new creation – as we are born again by faith in Jesus Christ, not having our sins counted against us.  And as we are adopted into his family with all these crazy brothers and sisters in Christ – young, old, quiet, loud, rich, poor, put-together, letting it all hang out, but all sinners saved by grace and seeking to make Christ known!
This Sunday we have a chance to all come together as one big Church family to celebrate this new creation and the ministry of reconciliation that God is working in and through us.  It makes sense for us to gather in our separate congregations most of the time, but we need to always remember that we are part of something bigger and that we are serving someone far greater than ourselves.  God is at work in our world and we have the great joy and privilege to be a part of it.  I’m so encouraged when we don’t get bogged down in our worldly attitudes, but instead get on with serving one another and serving Christ!
Yours in Him,
Ben

Look at this photo from Wilton Youth Camp (WYC) last year in June. Count the beanies and hands in pockets(ignore the boys in crocs). Camping in June was frost-bitingly cold. So, we changed things. We’ve moved the camp to October, and we’ve given it a new name: WAY AWAY. The theory is that if we rebrand it then no-one will remember the cold.

WAY AWAY 2026: For highschoolers, Friday 2 to Monday 5 October, at the Parnell’s farm in Wilton.

Across the weekend our guest speaker Dan Bishop will take us right through 2 Timothy. The memory verse is “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:8). It’s a timeless and inspiring message of faithful perseverance.

Youth can also expect a plethora of fun and games and food and memories and if we get 25 registrations they’ll also get a slushie machine. 30 regos and we’ll get a full laser tag kit!

Two things you can do. Pray for our leaders, for the youth coming, and for four days of perfect weather. And if you know a high schooler who should be there, register them and make them go! 

Tickets: pwac.org.au/wayaway

In Christ, Scott Williams (Assistant Minister)