Friday, May 22, 2020

What Jesus Says About Money

Pastor’s Questions for the Week
What Jesus says about Money

No one can serve two masters, since either since they will hate one and love the other, or they will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:24

The traditional translation of the English word ‘money’ is ‘Mammon.’ Of course, no one pays their bills, or goes to a restaurant, or pays their child care with a Mammon card, but what is Jesus actually trying to say? Is this statement more about what we treasure than it is about money in general? What is Mammon? How does it influence our identity and relationships?

Join with Pastor Reid and Pastor Noel Due as they have a dialogue and Q & A on the topic of ‘Mammon and Me’ on Sunday.

Check out 1 John 2:15-17 to stimulate your minds for the discussion.

Pr. Reid Matthias

Bible Readings: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20; Matthew 6:19-24

Please check the website www.paravista.org.au for podcasts and video archives of weekly messages or head to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/goodshepherdparavista for regular updates and encouragement from our pastors.

COVID-19 News and Weekly Messages
During this period of COVID-19 restrictions, our Sunday worship has moved online, starting at 10:30 am. If you would like to participate please contact the church office for information about how to access this. Zoom is enhancing the security of meetings. Please make sure you have upgraded to version 5 (or later) of the Zoom app any time before 30 May2020 so you can continue to connect to our live streamed services after this date.

Prayer Requests
As we adapt to our new way of living please forward all prayer requests to the church office via churchenquiries@paravista.org.au or phone 08 8263 5087. If you know or have spoken to anyone who does not have access to a computer, please assist them to submit their request and offer to pray with them. Prayer requests are not included in the weekly news. If you would like to view the current requests please refer to the email that alerted you to this weekly news.

From the Office
Congregation and School AGMs
The AGMs of the congregation and school will be held Sunday May 31st at 11:30am. Both entities will be addressed in the same meeting to assist the meeting chair and video moderators in processing information. If you have not received your reports and agendas for the meeting please contact the church office on email churchenquiries@paravista.org.au or phone 08 8263 5087, and they will be sent to you. We wish to limit printed/posted versions due to costs and speed of posting.

Part of the school agenda involves adopting a new constitution. To ensure the process is open and transparent, the School will host a 'Zoom meeting' at 7pm on May 28, to outline the background, the proposed changes and answer any questions. To register your attendance please email Council Chair Matt Schmidt on m.schmidt@achpersa.com.au and a meeting link will be shared with you.

Help us to alleviate congestion at the meeting by directing questions concerning any of the reports to the office as soon as possible. This will allow questions to be answered and responses sent back out to all members in a timely manner. Please supply a contact phone number with your email so the relevant person can discuss concerns with you. Apologies may also be forwarded to the church office.

Currently no questions have been received in relation to the AGM material.
Personal Presence at the AGM.
There has been a change to the original AGM procedure sent with all the material. The church will not be open for members to physically attend. If you do not have the means to participate in the meeting via the electronic platform please let the office know ASAP. We will endeavour to link you with someone who has the technology to enable your participation.

Mission Vision Report
Offerings 2019
February
March
Apr
Year to Date Variance


Actual
Budget
Actual
Budget
Actual
Budget


Sunday Offerings
13532
18300
16690
18300
15386
18300
-9292
REG Offerings
20767
23333
20767
23333
22470
23333
-5408






Offerings 2020
February
March
Apr




Actual
Budget
Actual
Budget
Actual
Budget


Sunday Offerings
14669
18300
10016
18300
0
18300
-30215


REG Offerings
25805
23333
23756
23333
34855
23333
14417


























Notes:
Offerings are considerably down. It is encouraging to see how many have embraced electronic giving. Please consider making a permanent regular gift via EFT.
As soon as we update to the new the mission vision statement with the budget accounts we will be able to provide an expenditure brief.
All ministry areas have been impacted by recent events and staff are resourcing only what is necessary.

Mission Support
Please continue supporting our congregation's mission and ministry through regular offerings as our facility and staff continues to operate in a different way.
Electronic deposits can be made to the following bank account details

BSB: 704942
Account number: 100354939
Account Name: GSPV REG

LLL REG:
Download the form here and use the same bank details as above in the account to be credited. Then email back to the address shown on the form. Alternatively contact the LLL on 83607200 or 1800 556457.

Online News
Rachel is slowly bringing the website into the 2020s and is in the process of setting up a church Instagram account. We thank you for your patience while this is occurring; meanwhile please direct any questions or concerns to the church office.

Facilities Maintenance
Boy!! How things have changed in the last month. With social distancing I was wondering how I could put on a working bee at the church and get members out and active. This could be achieved individually or by two to three volunteering for the following small maintenance tasks.

Please consider allocating some time to assist in repairs/maintenance.

• A permanent hand ball court to be painted in the courtyard area

• One-way arrows on drive pavement require repainting - 2 hours

• Refixing the ceiling in the Ladies’ toilet to prevent collapse - 2 persons x ½ day

• Affix down pipe and drain to the existing veranda at the manse – 2 hours

• Cobwebbing inside and out – 1 to 2 hours

• Tidy & clean hall store room - 2 persons x ½ day

• Window cleaning - 1 to 2 hours

• Add flashing to columns on new manse pergola - 2 persons x ½ day

• Pressure cleaning of main entry paving bricks (pressure washer required to complete this) – 2 hours

Please contact Stephen stephen.zanker@paravista.org.au or the front office for further info.

Office Distancing Update

Our office has reopened! Please respect physical distancing when dropping in. Helen will attend the office on Tuesdays. Wednesday-Friday Rachel will be back in the office. Hooray!

Grocery Donations
A huge thank-you from the Meet ‘n Eat team for all the donated ice cream containers! Grocery items and vouchers can be dropped off at the church Tues-Fri 9am to 3pm. We have supported many families in need and we want this to continue. Any household consumables including cleaning items will be appreciated. Any items surplus will be passed on to LCC.

Free
Two free TVs in good working order have been donated for anyone in need. Please contact Stephen through the office for more details.

Grow Ministries Faith at Home
Dear Church Family,
It is easier said than done, isn’t it? Don’t worry about it. And in these days, when the whole world has been impacted by Covid-19, it is perhaps even harder. It is of great comfort to know that God is big, strong and loving enough to handle anything that concerns us. This week the Growing Faith at Home resource asks the question: ‘What worries or concerns can you give over to God now?’
How are you going with acts of service ideas? Why not check out our Good Shepherd website under Children and Families resources? This week we flag the idea of creating Encouragement cards. You could do this as a family project and give them to people God places on your heart… family members, letterbox drop down your street… opportunities abound!

God bless your week!
Georgie

May Support for the Family Hub
The support for the food collections for the Family Hub this year has been amazing. All donations go towards supporting needy families in the area.
The last Sunday of each month has been designated as the collection Sunday in support of the Family Hub. The next collection will be on Sunday May 31st.
As we don't assemble on Sundays, donations can be handed into the church office any time next week. Office hours are Tuesday thru Friday 9-3. If the office is not open, please leave the goods at the door and staff will collect and store them when they return. As very few used the extra times offered in March it has been decided all donations can be handed in through the church office.

The Hub wish list for May includes:
Pasta sauce
Muesli bars
Tuna
2 minute noodles
Pancake mix
Tins of baked beans
Tins of spaghetti
Biscuits – sweet or savoury

Thank you for your continued support!
The Family Hub Team

Happy National Volunteer Week from Lutheran Community Care!



To all of our amazing volunteers at LCC,
This National Volunteer Week we want to take the opportunity to thank you for all the time, dedication and contributions you make to our organisation. We couldn’t be prouder of you and we can’t wait to see you all soon. We were sad that we couldn’t have our usual Volunteer Luncheons this week so we spent some time putting this video together for you to show our appreciation for all that you do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUX6o3fgx9Q

You can also see the extended message from Brenton Ragless here:

We hope you enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Renee Stevens
Volunteer Administrator
Lutheran Community Care SA/NT

News from Maranatha Health



What a strange and unprecedented time we are in. This is certainly not business-as-usual. Maranatha Health’s dream is that every child in our region of Uganda has access to high quality compassionate health care. Click on the link below to discover how you can ensure Ugandans get the life-saving care they need and read about how we are partnering with you to make that happen:
https://mailchi.mp/29e57415e033/ensure-ugandans-get-the-care-they-need?e=6d462d0b89


Hanelie is continuing to provide a professional counselling service to students, parents, staff and community. Hanelie is a member of PACFA (Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia) and completed a Dip. Counselling & Bachelor of Counselling through ACAP (Australian College of Applied Psychology). Hanelie is passionate about mental health and providing support to clients with qualities such as empathy, congruence and positive regard.

Counselling sessions will be provided electronically or telephonically. Skype or FaceTime will be used as electronic methods. Please note that FaceTime can only be used with Apple devices. Changes to service delivery will be revised in future as the pandemic passes.
The feedback regarding conducting of counselling session via electronic methods is that they have been well received.

Cost: A session will continue to be priced at $15.00 to assist with covering of professional expenses. This fee is well below market rates.

Please feel free to contact Hanelie at 0450 022 502 or email: hanelie.swart@gmail.com with questions or to book an appointment.

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matt 6:34 (NIV)