Category: newsletter (Page 8 of 12)

On Sunday 27th Feb 2022, we have been called to urgently unite in a day of prayer for prisoners, prison ministries, the justice system, the refugee and detention system and the law enforcement authorities in our nation, state and city.

In Matthew 25:36 Jesus’ words “I was in prison, and you visited me” urge us to care for those in prison but Covid lockdowns along with law enforcement staff shortages have led to extended periods of no visitors and lockdowns inside the jails and detention centres. The impact of Covid has also caused many doors to close on prison ministries such as Kairos Inside and Prison Fellowship. Please pray that these programs will be given permission to resume their ministries; pray for invigorated, committed volunteers to step forward and for revival in the work of Christ amongst both the prisoners and the law enforcement authorities. Pray that justice and safety will prevail for all.

It is often said by those in prison “We do the crime, but the family does the time”. Often the families, especially the women, are the forgotten victims of someone else’s crime. Kairos Outside ministry reaches out to the family and friends of inmates, saying “You are not alone.” Thus, I particularly ask for your prayers for the upcoming Kairos Outside program in May in Sydney. This specific weekend program ministry, (designed for women on the outside over 18 years & impacted by someone inside) has also been severely disrupted by Covid. Many regional ministries remain in extended hiatus so regional guests are impacted by needing to be willing and able to travel to this Sydney event to take part in a weekend.

Pray that God will open doors and open hearts to reach those He wills for their Kairos (“God’s special time”) experience. Pray that eligible women will hear the invitation to be a guest and then have the courage to come along to join with other women who often have similar experiences. Pray that their confidential time at Kairos will have a transformational impact on their lives through the hope and love of Jesus.

Further information here: https://kairos.org.au/what-we-do/kairos-outside/

Other relevant resources: https://prisonfellowship.org.au/

https://correctiveservices.dcj.nsw.gov.au/

Kate and I have just committed ourselves to walking the Overland Track in Tasmania in April. It’s a famous 6 day hike through rugged yet beautiful terrain. Everything we need for 6 days will need to be carried on our backs. It really forces you to think about what you really need when you know you’ll have to carry it for 6 days and 65 or so kms.

As we walk the trek of life, we carry a lot of unnecessary baggage. We often hold tightly to things that don’t matter, lust and long for things we don’t really need, and sometimes miss the important things we should really be focussing on.

In the introduction to 1 Corinthians (the Bible book we’re looking at in Church this term) Paul assures the Corinthians (and us) that in Christ we already have all we need. We have been enriched in every way – we do not lack any spiritual gift as we eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. (1 Cor 1:7).This is a great comfort and cause for thanksgiving. We don’t need to be anxious about not being a ‘good’ enough Christian, we simply need to trust in Christ and all he has done for us.

It’s also sometimes a challenge and rebuke, as we lust after more of the wrong things, and don’t appreciate or rely on Jesus Christ who has given us all we need. Let’s pray as we read 1 Corinthians that we as God’s Church will focus our eyes and our thanksgiving on Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us!

Yours in Christ,

Ben

A personal reflection on Foster Caring from one of our Church members:

This week is Foster Care Week!

When my husband and I first started along on the path of becoming short-term foster carers, nearly every person we spoke to about it said ‘I couldn’t do that! I’d get too attached!’ At first we felt a little hurt, as if they were suggesting our hearts had to be harder to take on caring for a child we’d have to say goodbye to. The irony is that the whole purpose of short-term foster care, particularly of infants, is to become very attached, to teach them from the start that they can attach to other humans and can trust that they will be loved and cared for.

In a workshop we attended early on, we learnt about the unique grief that short-term carers experience: a grief you know full well you’re going to experience, and yet enter into anyway. They suggested making sure that others around you have opportunity to enter that grief with you. Our church family certainly did. From the start, they couldn’t help but love that little baby, even though they all knew a goodbye was coming.

When I think of those words ‘I couldn’t do that!’, I can’t help but feel that I couldn’t not have done that! Both of us can’t imagine not having had that baby in our life, even with the inevitable, raw grief that has followed. And it certainly wasn’t an easy time. We felt our age! We felt our sore arms and backs. We felt anger and sadness as we came face to face with the pain that many in our community suffer. We certainly felt God’s help. But we also felt just a little of God’s heart for the lost, the weak, those born into and living with generational trauma, those who haven’t had the opportunities that many of us have had.

But in the end it’s ultimately not about us! The need for homes for vulnerable children, particularly in the South West of Sydney, is great. In our parish, we are right on the doorstep of the area of biggest need for out-of-home-care in NSW.

Not everyone has the flexibility or space to take on foster caring, but some of you might. There are endless opportunities for crisis care (one or two nights); short-term care (up to 12 months); respite care (typically giving other foster carers a break for a weekend a month) and long-term care. As we plan to take on another placement later in the year, we will be even better this time at asking for help from our church family, occasional baby-sitting or a cooked meal in those first weeks of sleepless nights with a newborn! We’ve so appreciated those praying for us (particularly during the transition/goodbye period), praying for the baby, for the baby’s birth family, and now for the new family. That child will certainly never leave our hearts, even having left our home.

To find out more about Foster Care through Anglicare click here.

Or watch these Youtube Clips:

https://youtu.be/hDqv6Ocd2TE

https://youtu.be/IZ5JnUih2lY

Let’s make the most of what we’ve got.

There are a lot of things we can’t do at the moment: we can’t gather together for Church, we can’t visit our family members, we can’t play sport or many other things.

But we can still gather together in a virtual way through YouTube, Zoom, Facebook and phone calls. We can open the Word of God and encourage each other, we can draw near to God in prayer, calling upon the Holy Spirit to be at work in us to make us more like Christ. We can proclaim the good news of Christ in new and creative ways to a world that needs Jesus Christ!

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.”

2 Timothy 2:8-9

We are currently held captive in our homes (sort of), but the Word of God is not, let’s allow the Word of God to do it’s work in our lives, and in the lives of others!

I’m really excited to preach through the book of 1 Samuel with you over the next 8 weeks. I had intended to challenge you all to be regular at Church this term. With many competing priorities in our lives it’s easy to let attendance at Church slip down the priority list (and I notice this happens all too often). But when we do this, we’re not the only ones who miss out. Our brothers and sisters are all the poorer for our absence.

When you are faithful at ‘turning up’ at Church – it has a profound positive impact on your brothers and sisters in Christ. It encourages them. It spurs them on. And it allows you to exercise your gifts in serving them. It also has a profound positive impact on your family members. It says to your children, “Church is a priority, we need to make Jesus our number one!”

So, this term, for everyone who ‘turns up’ every week (which simply means watching along on YouTube during lockdown weeks) I’ll have a chocolate bar reward for you on the final Sunday of term!

Yours in Him,

Ben