Socially Speaking!
While what we focus on is often rituals, ceremonies, and services, I believe God wants us to act with kindness and service to those who need it most. “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world”. (James 1:27) That’s one of our aims at Good Shepherd, to practice the one "religion" that God approves of – social justice.
Home Alone!
There are those who enjoy being alone. Being alone can be refreshing. Loneliness conversely is painful and traumatic. Loneliness is a sense of isolation, of inner emptiness, deprivation and worthlessness, the feeling we get when we are bereft of meaningful human companionship. Along with some of you reading this, I have experienced the bitter taste loneliness of being ‘home alone’ and suffering loneliness at Christmas! The hurt and pain of that experience of loneliness gave me deeper compassion of the problems of others, a greater awareness of God’s tenderness and nearness, increased self-understanding and the realisation that as God’s hands feet, we have an obligation to assimilate with and to share what He has graciously and abundantly provided for us.
God says;
Proverbs 3:27 reads (Message) “Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God's hand for that person.” This means you must be willing to be interrupted. Loving others doesn’t happen on your agenda; it happens on their schedule. Love is often inconvenient! This is what Jesus tells us to do! (Read Luke 10:25-37) v34 “He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
We love our ‘neighbour’ when we move quickly to help them. We do what we can at that very moment. The Good Samaritan took action immediately. He didn’t just say, “I’m sorry for this guy. Isn’t it a shame? Isn’t that too bad?” He actually did something.
Think about this:
I wonder if God intentionally puts people — needy, hurting, hurtful people — in the path of our life? What often seems like a chance encounter is actually a God-engineered meeting. God knows we learn to love when we do things for others, knowing we won’t get anything in return. We learn to love when helping someone else costs us in our plans, time, convenience, or money.
Be prepared for God to divinely place someone in your path today. Maybe God's going to give you an opportunity and you have a choice: Will you seize the moment, or will you blow it off? God is giving you the opportunity to grow in your ability to love, not only at this Christmas time, but every day!
Barry Klaer
Pastoral Care & Fellowship
This week we continue the series
“Get ready for Jesus”. This week’s
message “Are you ready
for answered prayer?” ‘The angel answered, “I am
Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you
and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to
speak until the day it happens, because you did not believe my words, which
will come true at their appointed time.”’ (Luke 1:19-20)
Bible Readings: Luke
1:5-25
Kingdom Kids
The Kingdom Kids celebration service was held on Sunday 2nd
of December at the 10:30am service. It was a fantastic and uplifting service
which showed the Christmas story from a different perspective. David
Attenborough did a documentary on ‘The Great Migration’ where many strange and
wonderful creatures travelled to the birth of our Saviour, Jesus!
A BIG thank you to all the kids, team leaders and helpers who worked
very hard to present this inspiring service, it was great to see so many kids
and families involved. We hope that you were refreshed with the message from
the kids!
Kingdom Kids will be on holidays now and will restart when school
returns in 2013.
Baby Zone
Please pray for this ministry and consider if you or anyone you know
could be involved in any way. We need more volunteers to keep this ministry
going. Please contact Beth if you would like to know more!
Playgroup
Little Lambs Playgroup has had an amazing year of growth! This week the
playgroup had a Christmas party at Victory church café with more than 50 kids
and adults attending! A BIG thank you to the team who have lead and coordinated
this playgroup in 2012 and for their time, efforts and passion. Playgroup will
begin again when school starts back in February 2013. If you are interested in
helping out with this ministry next year, please have a chat to Beth.
Beth Einthal
Relief Children and Family Team
Leader
beth.einthal@paravista.org.au
Monday Soup Night End of Year Celebrations
We thank God
for the Monday Night Soup ‘Snack & Chat’ Team for all of their hard work
through the year as they “Reach into the community with the [social] gospel
that all may know Jesus and worship Him.”
Last
Monday evening the Monday Night “Snack & Chat” soup team were guests at
their own celebrations. Over 90 people attended the end of year celebrations.
After Pastor Noel gave thanks, co-founder of the Monday night soup team, Owen
Uebergang gave special thanks to the teams who have assisted throughout the
year and particularly to Barry and Rosslynn O’Donohoe who were unable to
attend.
The
meal, roast vegetables with beef, pork, chicken and gravy was prepared and
presented by a compassionate team who also have a deep heart’s desire for our
church’s evangelism into the community. They then served pudding, custard and
ice-cream with a selection of fresh fruit.
The Evening Pix
[Below
left to right] team members Allan (MC) introducing the evening as Stuart
records the evening in pictures. [Centre] Rosemary and Chris being served as
[right] Bruce and Josie discuss what’s on the menu.
[Below
left] team members Ben, Coral and Jo with Monday night regular attendees.
[Centre] Who would have thought that an invitation to a soup night would lead
to becoming a member and being employed at Good Shepherd!! Our Sooty Lor and
wife Alice with Alice’s dad, Mike. [Below right] regular attendee Nicola (Nick)
Notarangelo blesses the patrons at the Soup Night as he regularly freely
supplies his home grown produce of fruit, vegetables and flowers.
“Let us bless you!”
And
they certainly did! We thank Cees, Debbie and Liana Wesselingh, Josh Champion,
Graeme Tscharke and Matt Hansell who teamed up to prepare, cook and serve the
culinary delights for the Monday Night Soup Christmas celebrations. And then do
the dishes!! We were all truly blessed.
[Right] Alexander catching his breath!
Snack & Chat Monday Night soup kitchen recommences on Monday 14th January 2013. Let me reiterate: As a church family we praise and thank God for every Monday Night Soup Kitchen team member for the sacrificial giving of their time and often their own finances and resources which enables us as a church to reach into the community with the [social] gospel that all may know Jesus and worship Him. It is a blessing to see the tremendous effort that the team contributed throughout this year. Thank you all!
Barry Klaer
Pastoral Care & Fellowship Team Leader.
Women's
Fellowship
The
next 'sit & stitch' afternoons, to finish patch work quilts for blessing at
the Lutheran Women of Australia Convention in April 2013 and then to be handed
on to Lutheran Community Care for distribution to those in need, will be on
29th January and 12th March 2013 from 1pm - 4pm in the church hall.
From the office
Hansel and Gretel
Our
church cleaners do a wonderful job of playing ‘the birds’ in the church and
cleaning up the crumbs left by our children. To assist ‘the birds’ parents are
asked to supervise children on a Sunday to prevent them from scattering bread
throughout the complex from the ‘Free Bread’ trolley. If bread is to be eaten,
please assist by containing it
to the hall or the ‘free bread’ trolley may not be available for those who need it.
to the hall or the ‘free bread’ trolley may not be available for those who need it.
Office closure
The
Church office will close at 3pm on Christmas Eve 24th December and
reopen on Friday 4th January at 9am.
(Open
from 9.00am to 12.00noon on 4th January 2013).
Normal
office hours (9am – 3.45pm) will resume on Monday 7th January 2013.
Staff Leave
Sophie 26th December 2012
– 15th January 2013
Rolly On leave till 28th
January 2013 inclusive
Emma
27th December
2012 – 2nd January 2013
Vacancies
LCA SA/NT District District Office Job Opportunity
DISTRICT
ADMINISTRATOR
37.5 hours per week (negotiable)
Contact Judy Gilbertson on 8267 5211 or 0400208184
Applications close Friday 11th
of January 2013
(Office closed 21st December
– 7th January 2013)
Outer Southern Generic
Homelessness Service
CASE MANAGER (1.0 FTE negotiable) OSGHS
provides support to families and individuals who are homeless or at risk of
homelessness. We are currently seeking an experienced Case Manager to join
our team in supporting disadvantaged families and individuals in the Outer Southern area of Adelaide.
our team in supporting disadvantaged families and individuals in the Outer Southern area of Adelaide.
Job
Description and enquiries for this position
Tel:
08 8326 4688
Applications
to: The Manager, 5/19 Elsie Street, Morphett Vale SA 5162 or via the above
email address.
Applications close Monday 7th
January 2013 at 5.00pm
(Indigenous
and Torres Strait Islanders are encouraged to apply)
Notice Board
Please see Notice Board for more Information
Donations for
Christmas Hampers
We are still in
need of toys for children under 18 as well as food items for our Christmas
Hampers. If you are able to help, it is preferable that toys have some
educational value (eg. Lego, ball, board game, or any other sports toy you
choose) as we currently have enough soft toys.
Donations can be delivered to our
Blair Athol office (309 Prospect Road, Blair Athol)
and
Barossa office (16 Gawler Street, Nuriootpa).
For a full list of required items or for more
information,
visit www.lccare.org.au or call 8269 9333.
*Christmas Gift
Ideas*
What a superb gift idea for Christmas for a loved one, family or
friends!
2 Wonderful
Musical Events at St Michael’s Lutheran Church, Hahndorf
Featuring...
Chamber Philharmonia Cologne— Offering familiar greats
like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Vivaldi in dialogue with works from
people such as Sergei Prokofieff through to the “King of Tango” Astor
Piazzolla. Wednesday 16th January 2013, 8pm. Tickets are $30 -
Adults, $25 - Seniors/Pensioners, and $20 - Students/Children.
Tickets from St Michaels
Lutheran Church. Contact Sharon ph: 8388 1225 in our office for further information.
The Idea of North— a quartet of
musicians, serious about their music without taking themselves too seriously.
Their instrumentation: voice (soprano), voice (alto), voice (tenor) and voice
(bass), with a little bit of vocal percussion thrown in. They have a
beautifully distinct sound and style, but they cross many musical genres: jazz,
folk, gospel, pop, classical, comedy. Friday 22nd February 2013, 8.00
– 10.00pm (Champagne available on the night).
Tickets available from 7th December’ - Adult: $38.00, Concession: $31.00, Child: $18.00, Group: $33.00,
Booking information—FringeTIX www.adelaidefringe.com.au Phone: 1300 621 255.
Tickets available from 7th December’ - Adult: $38.00, Concession: $31.00, Child: $18.00, Group: $33.00,
Booking information—FringeTIX www.adelaidefringe.com.au Phone: 1300 621 255.
Christmas CD
featuring Lutheran School choirs now available!
ver
the past few months Lutheran Community Care has been privileged to work with
hundreds (nearly 500) of gifted and talented children from 19 Lutheran School
choirs to develop a Christmas CD. ‘A Christmas Note 2012’ features 20 Christmas
songs including
‘Do You Hear What I Hear’, ‘Away in a Manger’ and ‘Joy to the World’ mixing school choirs, bands and bells all on one disc. The CD is now available for $25 +postage and would make lovely Christmas gifts for family members and friends or the perfect background music for upcoming Christmas events. Contact our State Office at 8269 9333 or call in to 219 Main North Road, Sefton Park to purchase a CD just in time for Christmas.
‘Do You Hear What I Hear’, ‘Away in a Manger’ and ‘Joy to the World’ mixing school choirs, bands and bells all on one disc. The CD is now available for $25 +postage and would make lovely Christmas gifts for family members and friends or the perfect background music for upcoming Christmas events. Contact our State Office at 8269 9333 or call in to 219 Main North Road, Sefton Park to purchase a CD just in time for Christmas.
He who kneels before God can stand before
anyone
Church Web site: www.paravista.org.au
